Always A Way
by 2FondofBooks
Summary: 17 years ago a bundle arrived in Ealdor that would change the course of history... A look at the series in a whole new light when one question begs to be answered: what if Merlin had a sister? In this updated adventure, Melissa Ambrosius attempts to break out of her role as a village girl. But when her chance finally comes, is it really what she wanted? Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE**

With strides of demonic confidence, a woman walked to a well in a broken stone sanctuary. With a flash of gold in her eyes and a muttered incantation from her vibrant red lips, the water came alive to an image. The smile that twisted her features at the sight was anything but kindly, as an electric cynicism seemed to crackle from her every intention.

_The darkened forest, charred by nightfall, echoed stillness to the roaring light offered by three small torches. They did little but offend the blackness their carriers were steeped in, although the silhouettes of seven figures were made out by the struggling glow of the flames. A man's outline led the group, and the five directly behind him mimicked his every move through the ever thickening brush; copying his unspoken negotiations with the trail, yet twittering nervously as though they didn't trust what they were agreeing to. A womanly figure, hidden by shawls, carried an oddly shaped bundle which squirmed as much as the dancing light illuminating the pair. A cry elicited from the wrappings of fabric, in the moment reflecting similar complaints from a fussy toddler in the commanding castle overlooking the weary group._

_The wanderers made their way in silence, obeying the dictate of the looming trees, when foreign footsteps and the haze of large torch lights uniformly overthrew the quiet that had reigned. A group of birds broke into a frenzy, which added to the rush of terror the travelers exuded, now running through the woods, ignoring the branches they had been so careful to avoid only moments before. However, the group became a hunted entity, as armor clad soldiers clashed into them, cutting their pleading cries down as easily as the very trees observing would fall. The once friendly light of their torches became vile witnesses of the terror becoming the blanched victims. When the red cloaked knights turned their backs on the scene, the forest resumed its slumber, not one branch wondering over the silhouettes' disappearance. _

_At the gate of the castle, the men resumed their guard, hoping that some measure of comfort would now fall over their monarch. His only valid threats gone, he would no longer fear his authority to be questioned, but a whine from the forest punctuated the cold air, if only in defiance of the castle's prevailing thought._

The priestess at the well smirked at the complete foolishness of mortals, how could the Pendragon ever think he could succeed without her aid? Her anger boiled over for a moment as she snarled at the thought of the man's treachery. After all she'd done for him, after all she had sacrificed! In her lapse of concentration a man entered the picture, and she was snagged back to reality by his presence. He had a dark, well grown beard and a tired face; his tattered clothes evidence of his being on the run for some time. Quickly ducking around to see if anyone was watching, he approached the bush under which a bundle was hidden. She reared back in shock when she realized that he had found it, and was placing a spell of his own over the child. The woman desperately attempted to counter his words, but noticed that she was having no affect upon the events in the image. Before the water erased itself, the bold man looked straight at her and winked. "Nimueh." He seemed to chuckle under his breath before his eyes hardened and he vanished into the cold solemn air.

"No!" the once controlled woman raged, slashing the pool of water before her with her hand. She composed herself quickly, and then glared into the pool. "You forget yourself," she murmured succinctly. _"Cineri gloria sera venit!"_

•

EALDOR

She dipped the warming cloth in the bowl of water once more. The woman sighed as she looked down at her tiny son, burning with fever. _Perhaps he will be well by morning. _She sighed when she saw the sky had lightened a shade since her last run to the well to get fresh water for her fevered boy. Only two years old, and he was already small for his age. The mess of dark hair was soaked with sweat, and his body shook with chills as she tried to hold him, as if having him close would heal him. How she begged the illness would pass on to her instead! Will had already won his bought with it, but he was twice her boy's age, and already a stronger youth than her pale son would ever seem to be. She moved to dip the cloth in the dish again, only to find it nearly empty. Allowing herself one more discontented sigh, she moved to fetch more water, her hand caressing the small, warm face. The miller had gotten the pestilence earlier that month, and already the illness had spread to almost every home in their small village. Just last week, Melitta, an old healer who had been like a mother to her when she lost her own so many years ago, had passed on when there was no one to heal her. She swallowed tears at the thought. Many of the young and elderly had died, and she could only hope her little one could hold on one more night. She always seemed to be asking for one more night. Allowing her thoughts to flee to Balinor for a moment she hesitated on the night he had left, stolen from her by Camelot's king and the dark woods surrounding their home. Before she could pain herself with further reminiscing, she drew her attention back to the child beside her. Pressing a kiss to his forehead, she pulled on her shawl and opened the door.

She almost didn't see the bundle, but looked down when she thought she saw something move. She swiftly darted her head about, before realizing the squirming that had first caught her attention was right under her nose. Glancing down, the small face peeking out of the cloth held her gaze, and she scooped it up out of habit, now looking about for someone who may have delivered the baby to her doorstep. "Hello?" she quietly called, her hushed tones carried by the brief breeze. Receiving only a nightingale's call in response, she noticed the child was staring at her. She looked back down and gasped slightly at the intensity of the gaze. There was a bright intelligence behind those brown eyes, as though they were seeing straight into her soul. They reminded her so of Melitta's. She wondered what she would think of this occurrence. A wise voice echoed in her head. _Everything happens for a reason, there is always a way._ She held the bundle closer to her. "Well little one, my name is Hunith and this is your home. Now, what shall we call you?" _Melitta? No, wouldn't want to tempt fate. Melissa? Ah, that had a ring to it. _ She tried the name in the night air, asking its approval. "Melissa." she whispered.

Yes, that would be just the name.

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	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hello! Thank you for reading the, hopefully, dramatic prologue and sticking with this story for the next update. I'm sooooooooo sorry for how late this is, I hope that updates will be faster in the future. My family has only one computer, so it's hard to share time amongst all of us. My muse appears to be rather patient in its thoughts… So far this looks like it will be a fairly long, multi-chapter fic, but if reviews be the food of fan-fiction, write on. (Did anyone get the Shakespeare reference?) I'd like to send a huge thank you to imposter17 and boppychoco for following this story, I hope you enjoy it. To new readers, be sure to read, review, follow, and fav Always A Way! So, without further ado, here's what you really want to be reading, not a rambling author's note J

**CHAPTER 1**

17 years later…

A girl perched on top a thatched roof above a one-room house, chickens hastily pecking the last bits of fodder from the dry ground below her. A small sun kissed breeze tossed a few strands of her long, brown hair; her dark eyes sighing at the village coming to life. The now haze of light the horizon romanticized the usually mundane tasks, and she loved to sit, away from it all, as though she was a ruler overseeing her domain.

"Melissa!" a motherly voice called from inside the small home. The once contemplative posture fell and her whole being went on alert, as though she was a small child about to be caught stealing bites of fresh baked bread. Limberly flinging herself into a back flip, her small frame allowed her to execute two before hitting the ground. Melissa chuckled a bit to herself; it was the only benefit to not having enough to eat.

"Coming!" she shouted loudly in response, startling the chickens. They scolded her instantly, fussing after her, then fluffed away before anything came of it.

"Melissa, how many times have I told you not to shout? I'll say, if I've told you once-

"I've told you a thousand times," she impatiently finished. "I believe you've told me that a million times!"

The older woman chuckled. "If only I had a shilling for every time you've said that."

"If only I had a crown for every time I've been scolded!" Melissa exclaimed in response. "Now, where is that dunderheaded brother of mine?" She shouted the last part in the direction of a heap underneath a solitary blanket that was one size too small. Pale feet poked out of the end of the bed and a shock of dark hair stood out of the front.

"Melissa!" Hunith responded with more exasperation. "It isn't lady-like to shout like that, answer me this, what am I going to do with you?" She walked up to her daughter and put a hand on her shoulder, turning her to face.

"Help me wake the slug?" Melissa suggested, emphasizing by poking him with her toe.

"Ow," Merlin grumbled, "Not yet."

Hunith interrupted Melissa's response with a sigh. "I need to get to the fields before Lord Huntsley docks my absence from my pay. Melissa, please try to stay out of trouble. And Merlin, love, would it hurt to get up before Old Man Harris?" Melissa coughed to hide her laugh as she smirked at the comparison to the drunkard at the edge of the village; guarding Ealdor in his mind, and shouting at innocent cows in the villagers'. Merlin gave a half-hearted "Yes, Mother," before continuing to sleep. Hunith opened the door to leave before turning back to her children. "And one more thing, be sure to take the grain to the mill. Melissa, Merlin will be accompanying you, especially after what happened last time." Melissa went to protest, but her mother scooted out the door and spared herself another argument.

Melissa glared at the door before turning back to the lump she was now in charge of. "Come on, it won't kill you to be useful for once in your life and get up."

"But it hurts, it hurts!" Merlin retorted, dramatically clutching his chest and rolling over.

"You know Mother needs the extra income you're work in the fields brings," she said, trying a different approach. Merlin sighed guiltily but made no move to rise. "Fine then, you've forced me to use extreme measures."

"What are you-?"

He was cut off by the rush of cold air as the warming, though thin, blanket was snatched away. "Come back here!" Melissa's mocking laughter was his only response as she raced to the hearth, where a pot of boiling water currently resided. He stood up and took a couple drunken steps, still tripped in sleep, when he saw what his sister was up to. She held the blanket by one corner over the cooking pot, the tip of the other end sinking dangerously close to the boiling water. "Melissa, let's think this through." he offered, approaching her as one would a cornered animal. She stood defiantly, the free hand on her hip as she dipped it slowly to the water. "Stop!" Merlin tried again. The blanket came to an abrupt halt.

"Wouldn't it be a tragedy if this blanket got any smaller, why, I don't think it would even be functional if we let it soak for a while," Melissa taunted.

Merlin tried not to be phased by her. "You know you'll just have to make a new one if you do this," he stated logically, "It'd be as much a punishment for yourself as it would be for me."

"Well, I'm rather quick with a needle, but I could find a way to stretch this project out, just for you." She smiled cheekily at him, her eyes dancing with the delight of the power she knew she had. "I don't mind a little extra work, and if that's the only objection you have…" Her voice trailed, dripping closer to the water with the blanket.

"If you do, I'll tell Mother!" Merlin exclaimed, desperate to save himself from the freezing night's that were sure to come as autumn faded.

"Glad to see you're maturing so nicely, Merl."

"Merl is a girl's name and, in case you're too blind to see, I am not a girl!" He groaned inwardly, why couldn't he have a nice, obedient little sister like everyone else he knew?

"Really, could have fooled me, blind or not."

"Speaking of maturity…"

"Oh, I would congratulate you on the come-back, but I have a better one." She dropped the blanket into the pot and lithely spun away, racing out the door, snatching the grain to be milled on her way out. Laughing as she dashed through the door, Melissa couldn't have been more thrilled to hear Merlin's complaints as he tried to catch up with her.

She paused as she took a moment to enjoy the sunlight and give Merlin a chance to catch up. As he approached her she easily ducked the clumsy swat aimed at the back of her head, chuckling at the sorry excuse for revenge. She continued racing past the fields, rich with workers in dulled hues of tan, her own peasant green dress humming along with the wind biting at its hem. The grass was still a cool green from where it flooded onto the dirt path through the village; the sun had not yet oppressed it. Melissa couldn't help but ponder how very much like the grass they were, thriving in their early years, only to be drained to a crisp residue once taxes burned their will away. She subconsciously flipped over a cart that would have been in her way, listening to the older woman's chuckle chase away her depressing thoughts. Relieved to once more be focused on nothing more than the wind, she-

"Ah!" an indignant cry interrupted her as a puff of petticoats and lace went up before her eyes. Blonde curls deflated against the dirt path as Melissa saw the tent of goods she thought she had absentmindedly dove through was really a collection of skirts. She couldn't resist rolling her eyes as she thought of how many families could be fed for a winter in exchange for the ridiculous fashion. Only one person she knew would be able to wear that much fabric, but she wished she knew what she was doing in the village, outside of the small manor she usually kept herself to now that she was eighteen, and a fine lady who must be kept respectable if she ever hoped to marry before she outgrew her youth. Just as Melissa predicted, the large, dark eyes of Alyssa Katherine Millicent Huntsley greeted her, full of shock and horror. "Matilda!-

"It's Melissa," she corrected, annoyed at the mistake.

"Like it matters. Has the world become so traitorous a place that one cannot even find a moments peace for a stroll?" Alyssa continued indignantly. She sniffed as she held her nose in the air. "I only wish for one, ooo! I just remembered. You will not believe the gossip I got on Ms. McCork! She has a lover, can you imagine? A young man showed up at her door yesterday afternoon and she let him in her house! He was rather fit too, no Arthur of course, but good enough for one not lucky enough to be blonde. I never looked at him twice, no not I; I will only ever be true to Arthur, my shining star, my heroic love, my-

"Alyssa, that makes no sense. Ms. McCork is fifty-six years old, far too aged for a lover, and the young man was her son! He was coming to look after her now that she's fallen ill."

"Oh. Well, she could have at least told me, instead of slinking around with secrets!"

Melissa sighed and continued walking, leaving Alyssa to her own wonderings and imagined world of intrigue. She spun around at a tap on her shoulder.

"Got you!" Merlin cried triumphantly.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hello again! I hope my lovely readers are enjoying Always A Way! I'd like to give a special shout out to Death Knight of Camelot and Penyucksee for favoriting AAW and to Knighted-Geek for following and posting the first ever review! *trumpets, fanfare, banners, and dragons echoing* Yay! Thank you for your support. Now, on with the show! or story with an author that wishes it was a show...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Merlin, I'm just stealing the characters to give Melissa some playmates :)

The market sat underneath the shadow of the manor, but not squarely or circularly or any other sort of shape. It was more of a diagonal trapezoid with odd edges that were eaten away by fields around the edge. With this odd shape and precariously placed stalls, moving in the crowded afternoon in any logical semblance was abandoned, but Melissa loved the chaos and energy of a crowd. It filled her up and made her feel as though she was part of something bigger. She sighed, if only she could make it the city. She kicked up a piece of dirt as she milled through the crowd, watching the nearby particles sweep away with it. If only Mother thought she was more responsible, but she was! Didn't Mother ever wonder how meat would appear on their table, or a few extra coins would miraculously turn up? She sent a sidelong glare to the ever glancing Merlin, who seemed to think someone was following them by the way he kept darting his eyes about. To think he was who Mother wanted to send. Sure, he'd be safer, but that didn't mean Melissa was perfectly safe here. If only-

"Survive?"

A man's voice interrupted her thoughts with an incredulous tone. She instantly felt her whole body tense. Reaching for where she hid her small blade in her skirts, she felt the worn leather grip. Merlin saw her do so and instantly put a hand on her shoulder.

"Melissa," his voice warned, "stay put. Mother will be heartbroken if anything happens to you."

"You're worried about me? Shouldn't you be worried about them?"

"Melissa, I'm serious." She looked into his eyes and saw concern and stubbornness swimming against the blue. She tore her eyes from his when she heard a familiar voice.

"You can't take our food. Our children will starve!" Mother? Both children looked through the crowd to see their mother running toward the man on the horse, in time to see him strike her hard against the face, the force of the blow pushing her to the ground. Melissa could not be held back this time. She raced out of Merlin's loosened grip and could hear Merlin running after her, but stopping at the edge of the crowd.

"We all must die one day, some sooner than others," the man said again, growling the end with an odd mixture of menace and careless pity.

"How does today sound to you?" Melissa stepped out from the crowd glaring pointedly at the leader of the band, her eyes becoming a sharp mica. A small gasp elicited from the people. Melissa couldn't help but fleetingly think of how glad she was that Will had made sure her mother was taken back home to treat the bruise blossoming on her cheek.

The man chuckled dryly. "Oh my, how frightening, a little village girl. Looks like today will be your lucky day," he commented darkly, drawing his sword.

"Oh, why thank you." Confusion treaded uncertainly across the man's features. Melissa stood patiently crossing her arms. "Well, why aren't you leaving and never coming back, I thought you said it was my lucky day?"

In place of a response, the man dug his heels into his horse, charging directly at Melissa. She quickly leapt to the side, tumbling across the ground and lithely popping up. She smiled as the man turned his horse around; he glared. "Very well then," he seethed, obviously angered by the girl's cheeky attitude. He started to ride toward his men once more, only to suddenly be thrown by his horse, crumpling to a heap on the ground. The girl ran up to him, laughing, but as he lunged for her she darted to a safe distance beyond his grasp. He went to stand but hissed in pain, then promptly rolled his knee into place with a pop. He sent a sickly smile in the girl's direction, ready to watch her squirm, only to find her calmly observing the situation.

"Impressive," she drew out her comment, ringing it in sarcasm.

He moved to return to his horse, which had run to the other side with his men, when he felt a blade press against the front of his stomach.

"Not so fast."

This chapter was much shorter, sorry, but I hope you enjoyed anyway! Please remember to review, I'd really appreciate it. Any questions, comments, or suggestions are always welcome!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Hola! I've decided to spice up my greeting by writing in…different languages! Can anyone guess what today's "hello" is? (It's probably pretty easy.) Anyway, on to my list of awesomeness, in which I thank everyone who has publically supported Always A Way by following, favoriting, or reviewing. I know I put this on the top of each new chapter, but it's because I really love the boost it gives to know people are really enjoying this story. So a true, heartfelt thanks for all of your support to a new fanfiction writer. I'd like to thank TheCryingWolf88 for following AAW and Knighted-Geek for another great review, I really appreciate the feedback. Thanks to Insanetrouble for their supportive comment as well. To everyone who's been dropping by and reading, thanks to you too, I hope each of you enjoys!

PS: Just a note about the first part, the tavern game they are playing is called hazard. It's an Old English dice game that eventually evolved into craps. The main is the number that determines if the numbers one rolls win or lose. Seven is the main with the highest probability of winning. Eight and six have the lowest probability of winning. I hope that clears some of it up!

PPS: A ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ across the page means a change in the point of view of the story. It means the story is being told through the eyes of a different character.

A TAVERN OUTSIDE MILDA:

"Choose your main!"

"Seven!"

"Ah, come now, where's your bettin' blood?"

"Runnin' thin at the rate he's drinkin'."

A rumble of drunken laughter came at that. The man who had previously been rolling the dice in a calloused palm, looked up, laughing with the others. He raised his eyes from the table where he sat and looked at the one who had told the jest, dark eyes sparkling with good humor and a healthy dose of inebriation. "And still twice as thick as yours!" he exclaimed in response, which led to another round of laughter. "But if my public insists, eight!" More whistles and cheers met this, and all eyes went to the dice. The man made as though to roll, then paused. "Hey, Paulette!" he called to bimbo who had been looking on, "how about a little luck?"

"My pleasure," she purred, sauntering over and bending to blow on the dice, making sure to do so at the waist. One of the men smacked her playfully, and she feigned injury before stretching out on his arm. The man at the table went once more to roll, and this time followed through. The crowd slumped and the man cheered when an eight appeared on the dice. Before he could collect on his victory, however, the tavern owner walked over. He looked solemnly at the dice, than at the man, then back at the dice.

"You must be very lucky, calling eight each time, and to roll an eight each time," the owner started slowly. "Certainly you wouldn't mind if I rolled them a bit, would you?"

Before the man even began to form a response, the owner snatched the dice with surprising speed and tested their weight in his hand for a moment, then rolled. A six and a two appeared. "Interesting," the owner murmured, just loud enough for everyone to hear. He rolled again, with the same result. Another man from the crowd stood at this.

"The little bastard's been cheating us the whole time!" he roared. Soon the mob was descending on the man at the table chasing him out with a large outbreak of pandemonium. Tables crashed, bottles flew, but still the man slipped through the crowd as though he had been doing it his whole life. _Perhaps I have been,_ he thought to himself. It had been a long time, far too long.

Somehow, he made it out the door and found himself out in the bright sunlight of the day. The dirt road the tavern faced was mostly an abandoned stretch of dirt, so he didn't have to worry about sharing it with many. However, a face in a window of the tavern kept him from starting his wandering.

"Philip!" he ran over to the window and called to the man inside.

He looked at him and motioned for the man outside the tavern to quiet. "What is it? You just got ran out due to your own stupidity. If you're going to weight'em at least make it seven, that's a hell of a lot more believable than eight. I can't help you this time."

"I'm not asking to go back in, I just need half a crown, come on, help an old friend out?"

"Ha! Old? You're half my age! You're at the time a man should be coming to terms with life. Why don't you become a farmer or get a job, settle down somewhere? It'd do you a lot more good than chasing skirts and blowing through drinks."

"Come to terms with life? At twenty? I don't think so."

"But you might even meet a nice lady."

"And what? Get trapped into being a husband? No thank you. It might work in fairytales, but they never ask the prince what he thinks, eh? He just gets warped into the happily ever after."

"Hey, whatever you say kid. But you might wanna make yourself scarce soon." Philip gestured to the road. "Good luck Gwaine."

"Don't forget, Phil, I don't need that!"

Philip raised his eyes to the blue sky, then watched the retreating figure. "I pray to God everyday you don't."

•

Gwaine hadn't been walking very long before he saw a small village on the flat horizon. He was intrigued by it, as a vagrant he never passed up the opportunity to explore a new place, even tiny farming villages. He did see a modest manor above the stalls of what appeared to be a market as he got closer. Turning the final bend as the barterers came into view from the shielding of several bushes, he saw a large crowd. For some reason a large group had gathered in what looked to be the center of the market. His natural curiosity getting the better of him he walked up and quickly began making his way through the people to the front. When he finally saw what was happening, three words explained the situation to him.

"Not so fast." A girl's voice rang clear in the now hushed square. She was slimly built, a bit on the short side, but an icy confidence pointed at the man at the tip of her blade made her seem twice her size. Gwaine couldn't help but admire her spirit, and he had never seen a girl hold a sword with such hardened grace. Suddenly the man lunged at her, drawing a sword that was quite large in comparison to hers. He instantly reached for his own to help, but was frozen in place by surprise's strong grasp. She wasn't fazed in the slightest by the challenge, but smiled instead, seeming to relish the fight. The man went to slash at her legs, but with a swift jump and kick in the jaw as she back flipped to a standing position, she found herself with the advantage when her opponent hit the ground, clutching his mouth. Unfortunately, this only made more trouble, as the goons behind their leader finally got over the shock of watching a small girl fell their leader. Leaping from their horses, six others rushed the girl. Gwaine recovered and raced to her aid. There was no way they could win this, but then again, he had always liked playing the odds.

As the six men charged her after she had so gracefully dispatched their leader, all she could think was, bring it. She knew her mother would not like this and that Merlin would be standing worried and helpless, well not entirely helpless, to the side. But she hadn't had a good solid fight in so long, she needed this. Merlin was absolutely hopeless, and Will wasn't terrible, he was actually fairly talented, but he had never been much of a challenge. Besides, battling marauders was much more fun in Melissa's opinion. She hadn't been fighting very long; she had only knocked out one of them with another swift kick, when she felt another presence fighting beside her. She didn't see the figure, but she could tell they were there and they didn't mean to harm her. That was all she cared about, although she couldn't help but be disappointed that someone was helping her. She didn't need them making her look weak; she refused to become another helpless girl.

Unfortunately, she had to admit they were very skilled, and they fought together well. As though they had choreographed the fight beforehand, he always seemed to know where to step to distract an opponent while she focused on one, and she always knew where she needed to be to push the men wherever he wanted them. After many slashes and twists and disarmings, the marauders retreated to their horses. As they went to ride away, the leader bellowed.

"Each and every one of you will pay the injuries you have done us today! Let that rest on your conscious you daughter of a dog!"

"I am not a daughter of dogs; I am a daughter of wolves!" she called back just as loud. The words had not even begun to rest when she turned around to look at the man who had fought with her. "Why did you do that?" she snapped, the words biting.

Although he had just finished a rather long bout of fighting, Gwaine looked over at the girl beside him quickly, looking energized instead of exhausted. "I thought pretty, young thing like you might need some help. Apparently, I was mistaken."

"Things aren't always as they seem," Melissa replied rather curtly, still nursing her wounded pride.

"They never are, are they?" Although interpreted as a question, he didn't intone it as one, instead merely stating it as he held her gaze. He soon broke his reflective state. "What's your name sweetheart?" he asked, the cocky smirk returning to his face.

"It's definitely not sweetheart," she replied in irritation, "it's Katharine."

At that moment, Merlin ran over to the pair. "Melissa! Mother's alright, I left to look after her, but what were you thinking! I know you think you're invulnerable, but you're not. All it takes is one misstep and," he trailed off, fixing a curious look on Gwaine. "Who's your friend?"

"Gwaine, at your service," he leaned down and kissed her hand holding her eyes and winking. "Let me guess, your name's Katharine, but everyone calls you Melissa?" he cocked a disbelieving eyebrow in her direction.

For once, Melissa looked at a loss for words and instead turned to Merlin. "I guess this is Gwaine, and we are definitely not friends." She bit the last part in Gwaine's direction, making sure he understood.

"Oh no, but how I wish we were more than that," he murmured to himself, watching her figure gracefully, yet pointedly walk away. He just then got a good look at her weapon as it swung behind her, and he noticed it wasn't a sword, but instead a lengthened dagger. Before he found his mind reflecting on her layered brown eyes, how they pierced through everything, he was interrupted by a small crowd of giddy squeals. A few village girls had been watching him, and he gave them a smile to appease the small group of admirers. He went to walk over to them, but something drew him back, back in the direction of Melissa. Katherine, he thought, chuckling softly at the memory. No, Melissa was far more suitable to her; it just seemed to fit her better. What was wrong with him? Sure, he had had more flings than he could count and was no stranger to amorous feelings, but nothing like this. He honestly would be content to just watch her walk, she did have a nice figure that her ill fitting, pale green dress hinted at, and a most unique shade of brown in her hair. He knew he'd never think of brunettes the same way again. He shook his head, attempting to clear it as he meandered through the rest of the fields. The old him would have been glad to have a gaggle of girls to follow him around, wait, the old him? No, there was no old him, just a version of himself he suddenly wasn't sure of anymore.

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	5. Chapter 5

Bonjour! What about this one? Thank you to Knighted-Geek, who always sends such supportive reviews after each chapter! Also, a shout out to shelle-ma-belle for following and favoriting AAW! Just wondering, has anyone ever heard of Rasmus Seebach? He's a Danish singer whose music I am currently in love with :).

DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own Merlin… *sighs mournfully*

"Well, he seems interesting."

"Shut up, Merlin."

"Why? I was just commenting on the disposition of his person."

"Does using big words make you feel special? Aw, cute little Merlin expanding his vocabulary," Melissa replied, reaching to pinch Merlin's cheek as they walked back home from the events in the market.

Merlin swatted her hand away. "Well, he did help you out, so he can't be that bad of a guy."

"I didn't need help. He's nothing but a nosy vagrant, and I hope he leaves soon."

"You aren't even the least intrigued? I can't believe you're not instantly trying to discover his life's story, seeing if it can get you any closer to the capital," he quieted the last part, knowing it was not a pleasant subject for Melissa to discuss.

"I'm not Alyssa; I'm surprised she isn't already poking around him, kicking up dirt."  
"You're a lot more similar than you'd like to admit," he mumbled, but not quietly enough, as a hand swiftly made contact with the back of his head. "Ow! See, you're just proving my point, you don't want to admit it!" he called after her as Melissa disappeared into the house.

"Melissa, what were you thinking?" Of course, her home was probably not the best place to escape from exclamations and nosy people. Her mother enveloped her in a stifling hug the moment she stepped through the door. "Why do you always feel the need to rush about with absolutely no regard for your own well-being?"

"Because this village needs me. I'm the best defense against marauders that we have! You always taught Merlin and I to be selfless, but when I am you get angry with me!" By this time Melissa had stepped away from her mother's pestering examination for injuries and now stood a ways back.

"Melissa, love, I'm not angry with you, only concerned. I cannot have you running into the middle of a fight every chance you get."

"He hit you, do you expect me to just stay back and act like it never happened, to be scared into submission like every other sheep in this village?"

"Yes!" Hunith's voice rose to an uncharacteristic level. "If that's what it takes to keep my daughter safe, then that is what you will do." The determined look in her mother's eyes scared Melissa, she had never seen her this impassioned about anything.

"Well it's a great time for you to start caring!" Melissa shouted back meaninglessly. She knew it wasn't her mother's fault, she didn't even know about her activities. Still, Melissa couldn't help but feel betrayed, was her mother really so blind?

"Melissa, don't shout. What are you talking about? I've always cared, and I always will." The sincerity in her words held the room in awe for a few moments, before Merlin broke in with a shuffle of his feet.

"So, um, would it be any trouble if we had a guest for dinner?" Merlin asked a bit awkwardly, not really knowing his place in the altercation before him.

Hunith looked past Melissa to the door and quickly recovered when she noticed the guest standing beside Merlin.

"If you wouldn't mind, madam, I'd be truly in your debt if you could spare a small meal and a place to sleep for the night."

Melissa tensed at the sound of the voice and turned around to be greeted by a smile and a pair of warm brown eyes. Those warm brown eyes. Gwaine, why couldn't she get him out of her life, or out of her head?

I'm sorry about how short this chapter is, but I'll try to make the next one longer. Dinner with Gwaine…this should be interesting... :)


	6. Chapter 6

Hej eller God dag! This one's trickier, does anyone recognize it? Here's a hint: eller means or in this language, so I gave two common greetings, hej and god dag. First off, I am very sorry for the wait, please don't hate me! This one took forever to get out, and I will really try to post a new chapter once a week. It all depends on how cooperative my muse decides to be, let's just say she was less than helpful… Thank you to flowerlvr2396 for favoriting AAW, and a special thanks to Knighted-Geek for a great review! Enjoy this chapter, and please review so I know how I'm doing J

Hunith stepped forward to greet their unexpected guest first.

"You are welcome to stay the night and share a meal, though I must say there is not much."

Gwaine chuckled in response. "I'm certain anything you have to offer is better than an empty stomach and a cold night. Thank you for your hospitality."

Melissa was surprised at his respectful eloquence, wondering where a poor vagrant learned anything about proper speech and manners. Still, instead of being impressed and opening her mind to him, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, unsure of his past and how far she could trust him. She would be getting no sleep that night; Melissa decided she would instead lie awake in case he should try to steal any of their meager belongings. Despite her mother's constant reminders to look for the good in people, Melissa had experienced too much in her short life to so willingly trust anyone, much less a stranger who had suddenly appeared on her doorstep.

"Enjoying the view, sweetheart?"

She snapped out of her reverie, to find that she had been staring, blankly and in no conscious thought of him, but still staring at Gwaine for the entire time. A quick glance showed that Merlin and her mother had since gone to the cooking pot, leaving her alone with Gwaine at the door. She went to yell at him for his cheekiness, but instead smiled sweetly. "Oh yes, I was admiring how well your head would fit on the mantle. You would certainly match the rest of the décor, born from muck and absolutely worthless."

"You really think so?" he asked, standing next to her, dramatically crossing his arms as if he was surveying the space as well. "I do see it on such a respectable place as a mantle, and, if you are considering redecorating, yours would do very nicely by the cinders, m'lady," he added with mock politeness.

She crossed her arms and turned to throw him a reproachful look when she saw he was smiling again. It was truly insufferable to be around someone who took nothing seriously, who was always in such good humor. She continued to glare, and soon the two were locked in a staring contest due to the great stubbornness possessed by the pair. Shortly into the battle, Hunith gasped and raced over to Melissa. Gwaine cocked an eyebrow at her when he heard Hunith's words.

"Need I ask why Merlin's blanket is in the cooking pot?"

•

Soon after discovering the events of that morning, Hunith had resumed cooking and the four were sat around the small table, preparing to eat the thin gruel. There had been quite a bit of silence, only the dull knock of wood against wood as they ate, dipping spoons into slightly warped bowls. Merlin seemed to be the only one content with the silence, as Hunith was a bit unsure as to who the visitor was and therefore did not know what to say. Gwaine seemed the most uncomfortable with silence; seeming to want to scratch it from his back by the way he kept looking about, constantly on alert. Melissa was none too patient either, her leg bouncing in search of movement. Merlin spoke first to break the silence, despite being rather comfortable with it, for he began to sense his mother might be interested in knowing the identity of the man he had appeared with.

"Mother, I'm sorry I never introduced my friend. This is Gwaine, he actually saved Melissa's life in the square earlier today, she most certainly wouldn't have been able to manage without his help," he continued earnestly, throwing a glance at Melissa as he nodded with smiling genuiness. Melissa and Gwaine both stopped their idle movements and looked over at him with a bit of surprise. Melissa's face soon grew in annoyance, but Gwaine's merely smiled and went along with Merlin's tale.

"Is that so?" Hunith replied, a bit surprised. Her daughter was stubbornly independent, but she was relieved this man had helped her, as she felt Melissa often got into more trouble than was healthy for her to handle alone.

"Oh yes," Merlin replied. "I was ever so concerned when Melissa charged at the rider; I thought she would surely fall if someone didn't come to her aid." Hunith was a bit suspicious at Merlin's proper tone of voice, but looked over at the man at her table with a smile.

Gwaine spoke when he saw the mother's reaction, more than happy to cut off the indignant response he could see forming on Melissa's tongue. "I was only doing what I could to help, it's unfortunate in such a dangerous world."

"Well, if it's so dangerous, inviting strangers into our home is the last thing we should being doing, right Mother? If you're really such a charmed gentleman, perhaps you should do us all the favor of leaving." Melissa had jumped at the chance to speak and was now pointedly at Gwaine. Gwaine was beginning to wonder if he would ever see her face arranged any other way.

Melissa was still ranting though, now at Merlin, so Gwaine listened.

"And I bet you think you're so clever with that little story?! Mother, you have to know that I am more than capable of taking care of myself; I am not a little girl who needs some vagrant to rescue her."

Gwaine felt the cut of how she unsheathed the word "vagrant", driving it through him with distaste. "Your one to talk, princess."

Melissa's eyes widened, then narrowed into her signature glare. Yep, it looked like that was the extent of the facial expressions Gwaine would ever see.

Hunith sighed and looked at her spirited daughter. "Melissa, please don't shout, there's no need to get angry. Merlin, you should not have made up that story, though I am sure that your help was more necessary than Melissa will ever admit." she smiled at Gwaine politely, directing the end of her statement at him.

He simply nodded and Hunith moved around the table, picking up the dishes. Once they were cleared, she looked at Gwaine. "We don't have much room, but you're welcome to stay the night."

"Thank you, I won't be any trouble. It's not every day I meet someone as kind as you've been." He smiled at Hunith, grateful that he at least needn't worry about shelter for one night.

Melissa watched the exchange from corner of the one-room house, almost smiling at her mother's happy face at the small compliment. At least he was respectful to her mother; she swore that if he hadn't been, he'd be out on the streets for good, even if he was Prince Arthur himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Buongiorno! Ciao! Does anyone know this one? Probably more common than last chapter's J So, here we are again, time for the next exciting installment! Before we begin, I'd like to thank CryingWolf88 and angeleyenc for their encouraging reviews, along with 1BrownEyedGirl1, OneOfTheGuys411102, and angeleyenc for favoriting AAW! And another thank you to OneOfTheGuys411102 for also following this story, you guys are great! Now here's what you all really want to read...Chapter 7!

_Grey mist swirled around her, and phantom outlines of buildings began to form from the clouds, a bit of their damp coolness soaking into the hem of her long, silvery gown. Glancing at her own hands, she saw they had become ghost-like in appearance, a silver glow the only part defining her body from the grey mist around her. The girl instantly sent her eyes darting in all directions as she a throne room formed in front of her. She knew he had called her, it was always he who called her. She now must play the game, the game she didn't know she would have to be a part in until she was six. Even in the unfeeling environment she remembered the first time he had called her from her sleep, the night after she had used her powers. She had only seen him once before then, in the clearing the day she struck down the thieves._

_ "__Ah, you have not tarried long. How good of you to come." She could her the odd smile in his voice when it peirced her thoughts. She held back a scoff. As though she had a choice in coming here at all. She turned around, forcing a grim smile. He walked toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder bowing his head slightly in greeting. "Aravis." _

_She repeated his action and spoke. "Father."_

_They stood in that manner for a moment that may have seemed awkward to a mortal, but was not in their frozen space._

_Soon the phantom man spoke, a crown of mist forming, imposing on his brow. "Do you know why I have called you here, daughter? Have you any news for me?"_

_ "__Not at the moment, my dear father, I have not yet reached the capital, you know I would not bear withholding such precious information from you?"_

_ "__Of course, child. Yet I sometimes wonder why you take so long in following through. Do not you want the glory restored to me and my lands?" his voice rising in tension, but remaining an eerie volume._

_ "__Of course, father! Nothing would make my soul rejoice more than the flourishing of your realm. However, I am not high up in position. It takes time."_

_ "__Time we do not have." A rare flash of anger struck through him, and the girl became desperate to calm him._

_ "__What do you speak of, time we do not have? We have all the time we need in excess, father. Uther lounges upon the throne, he is not even aware of our very existance."_

_ "__What of his heir?"_

_ "__A minor detail. He is just as idle as his good-for-nothing father. There is no way we can lose, you must have patience, dear father. Something you have in qualities supreme." she said, resorting to flattery._

_ "__Very well then, daughter. I'll entrust you to this mission, and do not fail me."_

_ "__It would break my soul to even think of such traitorous events."_

_Repeating the action that had started the meeting, the two departed, only for Aravis to be drawn back, her neck almost snapping from the surge of power. _

_ "__Do remember what befalls those who would seek to end me."_

•

Melissa woke, thrown from her sleep, gasping for air. It only took a few breaths to slow her heartbeat, but longer to shake grasp of the dream. _Why her?_ she thought, wishing to be left alone. She looked over at Merlin, smiling gently at his obliviousness. She was convinced the the world could break to pieces and Merlin would still sleep through it. Silently rising, she padded swiftly across the dirt floor, stepping outside in nothing more than the simple nightshift her mother had insisted on making for her when she had turned 16. She hadn't grown much at all since, which was a blessing for the poor, clothing lasted longer. Leaning against the back of the house, facing the dark woods, she considered what to do. As though she didn't have enough on her mind already, she felt a pair of eyes on her, though she had heard no footsteps. Turning her head and looking sharply in their direction, her eyes fell on him. She turned back to the woods. What did he want now?

I'm sorry this one's fairly short, but I hope you enjoyed! Any guesses on what might happen next? Who's Aravis? Who did Melissa see at the end? Find out next time on Always A Way! J


	8. Chapter 8

Moikka! This is one of my favorite languages, it's from a Scandinavian country…let's see who gets this one J I hope everyone is enjoying this story, don't worry, some other character's will be introduced soon, probably in the next few chapters. A special shout out to angeleyenc for reviewing! Now, on with the story…

PS: Vuo is a different language, so don't be alarmed that it seems like my fingers slipped on the keyboard, it's meant to say that.

Gwaine was snatched out of sleep by a sharp gasp. "Vuo," he muttered as he woke up and scanned the room for the source of what sounded pained. All he saw was Merlin and Hunith, still sleeping. To him, the noise had filled the room, but he supposed it was only years of necessity that had sharpened his senses, something he was glad these people had apparently never had to do. For some reason, the thought made him happy. He wasn't used to having close bonds to people, the closest was maybe to Philip, but he was glad this family, though poor, seemed safe enough in their village. Only a few moments of talking to Merlin and he had already liked his honesty and good nature. His mother, what was her name, Hannah? No, Hunith, he mentally corrected, was very kind and he saw where Merlin got much of his personality from. And Melissa, his thoughts lingered on her. She was the mystery. She did not have the gentleness of her mother, or the honest, friendly nature of her brother. It was almost as though she had grown up in an entirely different world than Merlin. Yes, he would need to find out more about her, what exactly lay underneath the worn clothes and dirt. _Shut up_, he mentally chastised himself, his mind wandering where he had never stopped it from going before; _you just want to find out more about her personality_. _Yeah right_, his mind argued back immediately. Speaking of Melissa, where was she? Glancing around the dark room, he saw the small lump that had been curled up next to Merlin was gone, had she been the one that gasped? Moving quickly, yet quietly, across the room, he stepped outside to see if he could find her.

Exiting through the front door, he glanced about, quickly surveying his surroundings, but finding nothing but the cold breeze to greet him. As he stepped away from the house, seeing what he could find nearby, he couldn't help but smile to himself as he thought of her reaction. It certainly wouldn't be a friendly greeting, probably another glare. He rolled his eyes, wondering if she really thought a stare would be so off-putting. As he wandered around the house, he turned a corner, his eyes automatically shifting toward a slight movement. His eyes, trained at seeing in dark nights, picked up on the movement of a small collection of strands blowing in the breeze. Strands of hair. Her hair. He turned the corner and saw a small figure leaning against the back of the house, arms wrapped around her slim body, eyes brooding into the blackness. Suddenly, as though he had pierced her with an arrow, she turned her head sharply, looking into his eyes. A small amount of light reflected off of the deep brown look she fixed him with, him noting the color from his memory, rather than being able to see such nuances in the darkness. However, the image reminded him of something, and he couldn't help but think he had seen someone like this before. He stepped closer, but she didn't run. Instead, she looked back out to the forest surrounding the village. Now her profile was obvious under the back lighting of the moon, and he once again felt a memory stir. Where had he seen her before?

Beginning to feel uncomfortable with the silence, he said the first words that came to mind.

"What's wrong with you?"

She didn't even react, but continued to stare at the trees. He was about to give up hope of her ever speaking, until a voice, low and monotone, groped through the night to reach him.

"That's the only thing you came out here to say?"

He was a little surprised, but happy that she had at least said something and hadn't just glared at him. Yet, he felt there were much deeper circumstances at work, for he thought he would have preferred a normal glare than an emotionless response from what looked like a shell. A strong wind drew itself up, prodding him impatiently before moving on to tangle Melissa's hair and dress. Gwaine suddenly became very much aware of her attire, or lack thereof. A simple white shift was the only thin layer between her and the night, and he saw her shiver at the touch of the strong wind. He removed the jacket he wore over his shirt while traveling and moved closer putting it over her shoulders instinctively. He wasn't even sure why he did that, but it elicited no response, at least until the fabric closed around her. She suddenly jerked away from it and turned to face him as it fell to the ground.

"I don't need your pity." She fixed him with a full glare, then moved swiftly into the house, her shift giving her the appearance of a spirit as the breeze flicked it.

"Well then, excuse me for wondering why a girl such as yourself wanders around at night half dressed." He said accusingly to her back, just before she vanished completely behind the door. She suddenly turned around and was mere inches from his face.

"You know nothing of the matter." The intensity that filled her eyes and tone caused him to want to back up at first, but he stood his ground. Then, leaning forward so almost no space existed between them, he returned her glare. Now she took a step back and disappeared into the house, barring the door. He didn't react to getting locked out of the house, instead looking back at the place beside the wall she had just left. His mind flashed back to a similar situation.

•

_ The tavern was filled with ale and smoke passing freely between customers and the many "ladies" interspersed amongst them. The room was held in a haze because of it, but mostly due to the inebriation of the people crowding it. Roars echoed through the tables as dice were thrown, an occasional fist slammed on wood, accentuating an especially tense match. One of the self proclaimed ladies threw an arm around Gwaine's shoulders, sitting in his lap, turning to face him. She threw him a suggestive glance, then pulled herself off of him, allowing him to lead her up the stairs to the rooms of the tavern. She giggled a bit drunkenly, and as the pair turned the corner leading to the worn boards of the steps, they almost fell into a figure leaned against the wall. She wore a loud, crude red dress, really nothing more than a shift, but her posture did not reflect the fabric's display. It was an odd game she played, needing to get noticed for her work, but obviously not wanting to be. Her arms wrapped around her slim figure, and only a slight shift in her gaze acknowledged the disruption. Her hair was merely a plain brown in the smoke-dimmed room, but her eyes. For a moment, their gazes held, her sharp, dark eyes stabbing straight through his, even breaking his mind's thick, drunken haze. He quickly pushed the whore on his arm up the stairs, noting that if she didn't want to have any fun, she was of no use to him._

•

Gwaine felt his breath catch as he finally realized what was so familiar about that gaze, that stance, that tangling hair. It was her. Though everything about her character screamed against it, he felt no doubt in his identification. She was any other lady on a street corner. Melissa was a prostitute.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! This time my muse was very cooperative, but my computer was not…please tell me what you thought about Gwaine's revelation. What do you think about their relationship? Trust me, more characters and plot will be developed in the coming chapters, but your reviews would be very inspiring! Have a great day and thanks for reading! :D


	9. Chapter 9

Konichiwa! Any guesses on this unique, island language? Well, here it is folks, the moment you have all been waiting for. Now, without further ado, 2FondofBooks proudly presents the 10th installment of Always A Way…Chapter 9!

Melissa darted into the trees surrounding her village; glad it was morning and pleased with the fresh scent of the earth, the dew on the grass, the shading of the trees as they shook with laughter at the tickles of sunlight breaking through. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes, long dark lashes shuttering them. She needed this. She needed this moment to just be. Here, there were no dreams, no deadlines, no hunger, no work. Just freedom and fresh air and opportunity. As she continued moving silently through the wood, she smiled at the success of this morning. She had woken while the day was still dark, not that she had slept much last night, and had slipped out the door, grabbing her bow and arrow, hunting knives, and sword, not even waking Gwaine. She shuddered involuntarily at the memory of last night. As soon as the fabric of the jacket touched her, she recognized it, and all became clear to her. She suddenly knew where she had seen the stranger before, as she remembered being the unusual wear of the weather-softened jacket from when it had bumped her before. So, he was just another customer, another vile, hideous man. She scoffed, thinking about how predictable they were. All except her brother. She smiled at the thought of Merlin. Even though he could be annoying and not always very quick, he was sweet, caring. She was proud to know that her brother was much better than Gwaine. He would never go near such a place. Melissa grew dark once more as she thought on that. It wasn't as though she wanted to be anywhere near those places, but she had to. For him. For her mother. For everyone because no one else did. No one else would. Melissa felt a hot tear forming at the corner of her eye, but pushed it back just in time. It was no use. Tears wouldn't do anybody any good. Tears didn't bring money home, tears didn't feed her family.

Crunch.

A snap of a stick over dry leaves brought Melissa from her self-pity. It had been a heavy step, most likely an armored man with in sturdy boots by the deepened sound. Melissa trained her already heightened hearing in the direction of the noise. Sturdy boots meant someone with wealth. Why would someone with that much money wander into her small woods? If someone was wealthy enough to take that extensive of a hunting trip, they needed to do something more with their time. A familiar tightness rose in her as she thought of aristocrats, noble men prancing through the woods, killing and wasting perfectly good meat for their own games. She had always hated nobles, all except for one. She quickly pushed the memory of him from her mind, focusing instead on the dilemma before her. Ever since a witch had made an appearance at her son's execution in Camelot, the king, already notorious for his ridiculous laws, had banned women from carrying weapons. His justification had been that if they were emotionally unstable enough to challenge him so publically, no one would be safe if such fragile, unbalanced creatures armed themselves. Not that the law had affected many, most women were not fond of weaponry in the first place, but it had angered Melissa. Technically, she lived in Cenred's kingdom, but the land was so often disputed that she would be considered a subject of Camelot if she was ever caught.

A flash of tan fur reminded her of her original reason for coming to the forest, food. She needed to find something for them to eat, even if how she was going about doing it was slightly illegal. She saw the tan again, this time pausing between a gap in the greenery. It wasn't a perfect shot, but she could make it work. Silently drawing her bow, she prepared to fire. A breath away from release, the deer turned around. Blonde hair and blue eyes locked with hers as the arrow flew, barely missing the man's ear. Melissa was relieved her shock at seeing the man had caused her shot miss, since she did not want to deal with a murder at the moment.

She froze where she was, quickly assessing the man she had almost shot. His face was one of absolute shock, and she watched his red cloak flap over the chainmail of and crest of which he was obviously a knight. She recognized the crest and color of the cloak instantly. Camelot had finally caught up with her.


	10. Chapter 10

Marhaba! Who knows this one? It's from one of the most controversial (and one of my favorite) regions in the world. Can you believe we're up to Chapter 10? Here's where I'd like to thank all of you who have shown your support by favoriting, following, or reviewing. A big thank you to angeleyenc for reviewing both Chapter 8 and 9 (sorry I didn't put you in the Chapter 9 A/N…your still awesome!). Also, I'd like to thank water goddess 19, Raynee Dae, and violentyetawesome for following AAW, it's great to watch this story grow. I hope you're all enjoying the story, it means a lot each time I know someone likes it, or even has input to share or constructive criticism… (hint,hint…in other words, reviews are always welcome!) J Anyway, I'll stop begging for your amazing opinions on this story and get on with AAW!

"My lord, shouldn't we turn back toward the citadel? Our presence may not be missed for several more days, but it seems we have reached our hunt's end." Sir Kay slowed his horse, eventually halting at the back of the hunting party. The forest that marked the disputed border between Uther's and Cenred's land stood before the group, and he had been a bit taken aback when he had first realized Arthur didn't seem to have any intentions of turning back.

"And why would that be?" Arthur responded, directing his own mount to face Sir Kay.

"Cenred's land lies within the forest ahead. Should we enter, we would be trespassing and would have no claim as to our actions." He responded calmly, attempting to reign in the tightness that wound about him whenever he looked toward Camelot's cruel neighbor.

"Need I remind you that this forest is Camelot's?" Sir Kay faced Arthur as he allowed an expression of distaste to cross his features.

"You and I both know that is not the case. It is disputed, but-

"But nothing." Arthur responded tensely. "Your king regards these lands as his own, and so they must be. Besides, where would the fun be in hunting lands we have seen before! Come now, Kay, lighten up. We'll just pay Cenred a little visit." He smiled now, nothing but boyish excitement and mirth rolling from the young leader's grin. The mischief was already set in his eyes, and Kay knew there would be no talking him out of it. Kay would have loved to talk back to the boy, for that's all he really was, but he knew better than to disrespect his future king. He did owe him his allegiance, and if charging into an enemy forest was required, he would have to go along. Yet, none of the others would ever understand his true reason for hesitating as his horse stepped across the border. They were all too young to remember.

After reaching the thick undergrowth of the wood, the group of knights abandoned their horses, stepping lightly upon the lush earth. Although he was not particularly fond of this place, he had to admit there was a tranquil beauty about it, and Kay attempted to focus on the scent of the trees instead of the feral thoughts running about his head. However, in his nervous state, he misplaced his foot as he walked.

Crunch.

The snap of a stick over dry leaves brought the attention of the knights to Sir Kay, who felt as though it was his first day on patrol by the glares being sent in his direction. He knew they were not serious threats, but it was still important to be careful, as no one could tell what might alert an unwelcome creature of their presence. Though they were out searching for a griffin, any other murderous beast would be most disappointing to attract, and difficult to get rid of. They continued to walk through the trees, and Sir Kay saw Arthur turn to seek out a trail in the other direction, when the solid sound of an arrow embedding a tree hit his ears. Turning abruptly, unsheathing his sword, he saw an arrow jutting out of the tree directly to his right. Glancing about for any sign of an attacker, he finally laid eyes on a girl. She stood firmly, bow still drawn, in a pair of worn pants and an ill-fitting shirt. He also saw knives and a sword hanging from her side, and though it was clear she was a poor, starving peasant, she carried herself as much more. Her brown hair was braided back tightly against her skull and her hard, dark eyes commanded attention in a way that he began to feel rather small compared to the confidence that approached from her cool form. Then he saw it. Dangling from a strip of leather, a long, slim blade hung. The lengthened dagger winked at him conspiratorially as it reflected the streams of dawning sun. Praeditus was here, and so was she.

Sorry it's short, this chapter has been really tricky, so any feedback on how it turned out would be great! I really wanted to get an updated out to you lovely readers, especially since it's been a week. J


	11. Chapter 11

Namaste! This may be tricky, but it's from one of the world's most populated countries. Before we continue our exciting tale, I'd like to thank angeleyenc for her lovely review; it's great to hear from you each chapter! Also, a shout out to Lucia123 for favoriting and following AAW, thanks for your support! I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter…it should be interesting :)

Leon was the first to move.

"Halt!" he shouted, moving to run toward the girl. As soon as she saw the man take a step, Melissa swung the now empty bow over her shoulder and took off, dashing between the trees she knew so well. She would have laughed at how the men actually thought they had a chance of catching her in this forest, but her mind was elsewhere. He was here. She remembered him, and all the red, whether it be blood or cloth. Allowing her mind to drift as she automatically cleared logs and skipped stones, she found herself delving into the one night she had tried so hard to run from. The night she met her father.

Earlier that same evening, he had stopped by. She had seen some packages he would drop off on their doorstep to help keep them fed, but it was the first time she had actually been so near to him. Her father had finally deemed it safe enough, or important enough, to visit. She was admittedly jealous of Merlin's closer similarity to him, the two looked as a father and son should, but five year old Melissa begrudgingly held no such appearance. He had still hugged her though, exclaiming about how big she'd gotten, and Melissa was satisfied once again as her mother's eyes shone with happiness in the dim light. However, it had not been long before the knocking, and the panic, and the red capes. Merlin was shoved hard against the wall, falling into a small lump. Melissa could only recall flashes of the night, but she remembered that very clearly. She remembered running up to his fallen form and standing over him. Even at that young age she had asserted herself in the role of protector. Her brother, as talented as he was, was overall sweet and caring. He had been more careful than she, perhaps because their mother watched him more closely because of his gift. Lost in memories she had tried to stifle, Melissa realized she had taken a wrong turn three paces too late. Sure enough, a large slab of stone rose before her, and she had run into the only dead end in the wood. Stopping in front of it to sigh dramatically at her own problem, she then turned suddenly, not wanting to have her back facing them.

The hunting party had formed a semi circle around her, essentially trapping her against the rock face, but Melissa merely smiled confidently. One of the things she had learned was that a display of confidence was just as important to survival as skill with a blade was, and she had adopted one quickly. _Of course_, Melissa thought, _there's nothing to worry about. If one can find a way into a mess, there must always be a way out._

Arthur stood in the center of the half-circle, facing Melissa directly. He smirked at what he deemed to be the helpless position she was now in, but Melissa held his gaze with a determined glare of her own. He broke the stalemate first.

"Tell me, what sort of girl wanders through a forest fully armed?" He quirked an eyebrow mockingly at the absurdity of it all.

"What sort of noble wanders through a forest, hunting in a deerskin cloak?" The words flew, as quick and sharp as the arrow that had pierced the air between them moments ago. Her eyebrow quirked as well, blatantly challengingly him to continue.

"To blend in with the surroundings," he stated obviously. "When one tracks an animal, it is important to be as similar to the environment as possible." He explained sharply, as though acknowledging a peasant would never understand such tactics.

"I see, and may I congratulate you on succeeding. Not only have you captured the look of a deer, but the odor and thick skull of one too." She wrinkled her nose and smirked accordingly, taking obvious pleasure in his reaction. Arthur was stunned for a moment. No one spoke to him like that, not even his closest knights would dare to be so bold.

He took a threatening step forward before replying in a growl. "You would do well as to remember your situation. Besides, you tried to assassinate me!"

Melissa allowed her eyes to widen in shock for a moment before returning to her confident, bored position. Much to the knights' surprise, she let out a short laugh before giving the group a more dangerous look. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm glad I didn't hit you, what a waste of an arrow that would have been."

"Do you know who you're talking to?"

"Does it matter?"

"If you knew what I could do to you, I think your tone would be different."

"If you knew what I could do to you, I think your tone would be different," Melissa bit back, her eyes dancing with some sort of ancient knowledge.

It was becoming clear that, while a village girl usually would not faze Arthur's knights, this one was very different. Everything about her was calm and mocking, as though she knew something they didn't. The group shifted uncomfortably as she looked at each one, seeming to slice into their minds with a glance.

Now Arthur laughed, seemingly oblivious to the discomfort of his men. "What would you ever be able to do to me?"

"I could think of a few things."

"So could I," he responded, a hint of suggestiveness sneaking into his voice, "but I'd rather not."

She scoffed at him and Melissa's eyes grew to a hard, cold black. "Neither would I." The words seemed to hold a deadening poison in them, as the air around them seemed to tighten. Once Melissa felt they had been properly chastised by the stiffness, she spoke. "Listen, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I really should be going. So, if you'll just let me through-

Melissa had started to walk the side of the group and was about to slip through when Arthur nodded to Kay, the knight closest to her. Kay sighed, but grabbed Melissa and pulled her into the center of the half-circle. The look of betrayal she shot him with hurt more than he knew it should have.

"We're not done here, until I say we're done, and that will be when you are brought to Camelot for sentencing," Arthur commanded, looking down at Melissa.

"Sentencing? We've already been over this. I didn't attempt an assassination; I just shot at a noble who decided to dress as a deer for the day. Besides, who are you to demand anything from me?"

Arthur looked at her as though she'd been dropped on her head as a child. "You really don't know who I am." The statement was phrased as a revelation, as though he had never considered that there was a possibility that even one person might not know him in the entire world. He actually appeared stunned, much to Melissa's amusement. However, a smirk swiftly shoved the shock away and quickly presided over Arthur's own amused face. "You are speaking to Arthur Pendragon, Prince of Camelot."

So, what did you think? Arthur and Melissa have finally met (yay!) but it's not over yet…


	12. Chapter 12

Salve! Depending on what school you're going to, or went to, you might recognize this one… I know I left off in the middle of a scene last time, so I wanted to update as soon as possible so as not to keep you, my dear reader, waiting. So, onto Chapter 12, enjoy :)!

Arthur waited for the awed expression to wash over the girl's face, the stammering apology, the begging for forgiveness, and the appreciation of his charm and good looks.

It never came.

Melissa looked at him with the same bored reflection as though he had just announced the sky was blue. She kept a steady gaze though, cocking her head as though she was still waiting for the amazing part of his statement. Finally she responded.

"That's it?"

His mouth almost dropped open in shock, as that had been the last thing he had expected her to say.

The knights around her had expressions of surprise, and a couple even wore ones closer to admiration for the girl. Although they would faithfully serve their future king, many agreed that his ego needed to be taken down a notch, or two, and this girl seemed unafraid to do the job. Sir Kay smiled inwardly, proud of how she had grown up, although he knew he had only been a small part of it. However, the moment was lost when Arthur finally responded incredulously, "That's it? As the prince of Camelot, I can arrest you for carrying weapons, throw you in the dungeons, put you in the stocks, even have you executed if you resist! Do you understand what sort of trouble you're making for yourself?"

"But I'm not making any trouble for myself. I am not a subject of Camelot. Did you forget that when you crossed into the forest you left Camelot, and your power, behind?" She said Camelot in a disgusted tone, but Kay couldn't blame her for that, not after that night. "Besides, if you did arrest me, and have me put in the stocks, or left in the dungeons, or even executed for disobeying you, I wouldn't put it past you to behave as any other noble." She put on a condescending air, obviously showing how low she thought of nobles, and Kay had to stop himself from laughing out loud at the scene before him. The mighty Prince Arthur was being talked down to by a peasant girl, a very impressive peasant girl. He also thought of how being called "just another noble" was the perfect insult, for every one he knew only dreamed of one thing; impacting the world so they would stand out, and never be forgotten. All Arthur wanted to do was stand out, and Melissa had insulted his ability to even succeed in that. While Kay wished that Uther would pay attention to his son more, he was glad to finally see him put in his place.

"This land is rightfully Camelot's. Cenred merely thinks he has a claim to it." Arthur's biased response broke Kay from his thoughts.

Melissa glared at Arthur. As much as she didn't like Cenred and his neglect, she still preferred to think of herself as part of his lands than a subject of Camelot. While many in her village hated living under the shadow of two great rivals, she loved living in the disputed territory. In Melissa's mind, it meant she had no king. She had no one to answer to but herself for what was right and wrong. She could never be punished by either kingdom, for she could always plead that she wasn't under their rule. Not that Cenred would ever take the time to actually manage his kingdom, so she hadn't ever faced the problem before, until today that is.

Before she could respond, as she felt the familiar indigence flood through her at Arthur's ignorant comment, a shrill, throaty call broke the air. The ground shook around them, causing the leaves the flutter in their discontent, scolding the disturbance with their chatter. The knights froze, and Melissa only darted her eyes, quickly assessing which direction the threat was approaching from.

"Griffin," Arthur and Melissa breathed in the same moment. They shared a defensive glare before Melissa continued. "Male, heading from the northeast."

Arthur tried his best not to be jealous of her apparently larger knowledge in the identification of beasts. He could track with ease and was the best hunter in Camelot, at least in his own and the people of Camelot's opinion, but he did not know much about creatures of magic. The only distinguishing features he could use to track a griffin were its call and footprints, but that was something anyone two bits of good sense could do. He tried to reassure himself that this was only a peasant girl, what could she possible know? But she spoke with the confidence of one with much experience, only causing him to wonder about her more than he wanted to.

One more great cry tremored across the forest before the large beast came into sight. It was magnificent, its majestic head expanding into a back of golden fur. Spikes protruded on either side of its muscled torso. Melissa felt her breath catch as she gazed at it. The griffin was what she believed every creature should be. Beautiful, but strong. Majestic, but deadly. She loved how the graceful movements could be so dangerous. She had always adored the creature and had wished she could have one to ride instead of a horse. Too bad it ate people.

"Gilead, tie up the prisoner near the rock face. We don't need her interfering."

At Arthur's command, Melissa was quickly pulled away by one of the knights. She protested, but was quickly overpowered when five other knights rushed forward to restrain her. She kicked at them, but there was only so much one could do against six trained knights. As they pushed her back against the rock face, she was tempted to shout at Arthur for calling her an "interference", but knew that would not be wise with a griffin in such close proximity. As much as she enjoyed taking risks, Melissa was not stupid, or suicidal.

Melissa looked up at Kay as they began to tie her, and she felt a pang of betrayal as, once again, he simply followed orders. She was surprised when, as the group moved back to their positions; Kay leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Stay here."

But Melissa heard the real message in his tone.

_"Be safe."_

Unfortunately for Sir Kay, Melissa rarely did as she was told.

I know, I know. I'm breaking this scene up quite a bit, but I promise there will be griffin slaying action in the next chapter! What did you think of this one? What is Sir Kay and Melissa's past connection? Any guesses? Thanks for reading, as always I hope you liked it! By the way, would you mind pressing the lovely little button that says "Review"? The only way for this story to improve is with feedback, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on Melissa's tale! :)


	13. Chapter 13

Lá maith! We're back in Europe with this language, it's one that really fascinates me J Chapter 13…dun, dun, dun (cue freaky organs and screeching bats). I hope this one still turns out to be good! I'd like to give a special thanks to ObeyNanooo for their review, thanks for your interest in AAW! And another thank you to Silmarilz1701 for favoriting and following AAW, I hope all of you enjoy this chapter!

OMG, I just realized I only put a disclaimer on one chapter. Please don't arrest me for messing with your characters! I don't own Merlin, even though do you really think the producers would be writing fanfiction?

On Julian Murphy's laptop: When he looked into the flawless pools of chocolate, shining like celestial orbs, gazing into his own ice blue…

Okay…so maybe they do… *awkward shrug* Anyway, enjoy this chapter and ignore the rambling, crazy author! :P

Melissa fidgeted with her thumbs for the third time since she had been tied up. At first she had thought that it would be easy to slide out of the knots, but, much to her disappointment, the knights weren't as completely incompetent as she liked to think, no, as she knew, nobles to be. Of course, if she dislocated her wrist, it would give her enough room to slip through the thick rope. She idly wondered what they twisted into the fibers, as it seemed to burn her wrists more insistently than any other rope she'd come in contact with. She continued to watch the knights attempt to claim the griffin. Stopping herself from laughing at their child-like attempts was currently proving more difficult than fighting her way out of her bonds. Maybe she had been right about the incompetence of nobles after all. _Who was she kidding_, she thought as she watched another nameless knight narrowly escape the spikes on the creature's side, only to frantically push himself away from getting stepped on, _of course she was_.

The group had clearly never fought a griffin before, as they attempted formation after formation as they formally tried to bring down the beast. In these forests, creatures of magic ran rampant on the borders of Camelot. Similar to animals that migrated, these magical beings could move in similar patterns. Since Camelot had become a death trap to any trace of magic, even these creatures didn't travel to the woods of the kingdom, instead stopping in her forest. Ever since she was a child, she remembered listening to their calls when she couldn't sleep at night. While most of the village children were terrified of them, she had found them comforting. She didn't belong in her place in the world, and neither did they. There was a sense of camaraderie she liked to imagine between them, even though she knew any of them would kill her in the swipe of a talon if she was close enough. Maybe that was another reason why she admired them. To have that strength, that awe-inspiring power that made everyone respect you, out of self-preservation, but no one would dare hurt you. No one would ignore you or walk over you. The power to be noticed, the power to have people fear you. The power she wanted.

Melissa quickly shook her head to clear her mind of such thoughts. It was easy for them to overrun her, and now she needed to keep her wits about her if she wanted to get out of this particular situation. Leaning as far back as she could, she pushed her back against her wrist, readying it against the rock and steadying the hold on her hand. Bracing the rest of the wrist as best she could, she swiftly slammed her back into the rock, allowing her wrist to take the brunt of the impact, her finger forcing a quick upward motion, causing the bone to move. She bit down on her bottom lip tightly to keep from crying out at the pain, but smiled through her now bloody lip at her success. At the same moment she heard a large, throaty squawk, looking up just in time to see the griffin stamp off in the opposite direction. The knights all looked exhausted and fairly beaten, but were about to follow the creature when Melissa yelled.

"Stop!"

The knights turned at her command, surprised to hear another voice, they had seemingly forgotten about her in their race for the griffin. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Going after the griffin, which is currently escaping us and getting farther and farther away each second I waste talking to you," Arthur responded, the irritation obvious in his voice.

Melissa rolled her eyes at their ignorance. "Griffins run to confuse the enemy, then attack from a different position so their prey believes their safe."

"Sure and how would you know this?"

"Experience."

Melissa enjoyed watching the knights' looks of confusion, Sir Kay's slightly impressed expression, and a younger knight's surprised face. Arthur rolled his eyes impatiently. "I can kill it for you if you want," she added, still pretending to be tied to the rock.

Now Arthur's eyes widened. He was the prince of Camelot, the finest hunter and knight anyone had ever seen. It irritated him that he hadn't been able to bring down the griffin himself, much less the fact that this cheeky village girl was insisting on hunting it for him. He didn't need her "help". Besides, he needed to do this himself. If he could bring back a griffin's head, his father was sure to notice him, and he could already see his proud welcome once he realized what his son had done. As if reading his mind, Melissa voiced his thoughts to the entire group.

"Listen, we both want something that the other can give. You want the griffin's head so you can make your father proud and maybe, just maybe, he'll look at you for more than five seconds with something other than irritation, and I want to go home and pretend I never met you."

Arthur felt embarrassment and anger creeping toward his expression, but he kept himself together enough to respond with a cocky smile, "You just want to get out of here so you can go back to breaking the law."

Melissa groaned at his response. "There is no law against a woman carrying weapons here," _Even though there is one about peasants hunting in the forests_, Melissa thought, but decided now would not be a good time to mention that harmless, little fact. "And what do you expect me to do? Allow my family to starve?" she scoffed at that thought, her eyes darkening with determination. "That is never going to happen."

"What about your father? Certainly he can handle a man's responsibility to provide for his family?"

Melissa bristled at the obvious insult and was dying to leap at him and carve that arrogant smirk off his face, but instead spat venom in her tone. "He's dead, thanks to your precious kingdom."

Arthur looked a little taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered. "What about an uncle?"

Melissa glared harshly at him.

"A cousin?"

The glare continued.

"A brother?"

Melissa laughed out loud. The knights all gazed at her uncertainly, as though they were certain she had gone insane. "That's a good one," she said, a smile still on her lips at the thought of Merlin hunting, or doing anything dealing with sharp objects for that matter. As she perused the faces of the knights before her once again, she reverted to her previous grim expression. "Pendragon," she said, catching Arthur's attention again, "I watched you and your boys fight. You clearly have no experience with this. I can take it down for you and you can claim all the credit. Your father won't be any wiser and I'll never bother you again. I'll be back to my little village and you'll be in you castle, with all the attention you deserve." Her statement was mocking, but even Arthur could see the clarity in her words. His knights had no idea what they were doing. Still, he couldn't give up that easily. He quickly put on a mocking smile to match hers and spoke.

"So, you, a tiny, scrawny peasant girl, think you can take down a griffin."

"Correction, I know I can take down a griffin."

Arthur glared at Melissa for her interruption, but continued.

"Well, what do you think?" He turned to his knights. "This might be entertaining. Any wagers on her success?"

Melissa quickly noticed what he was doing, but pushed it aside. If it meant getting home in time for breakfast so she wouldn't be found out, she'd put up with just about anything.

"I think we should give her a chance," Sir Kay vouched, "Either way, we get some entertainment and maybe a free griffin." He smiled at the rest of the knights, and it became clear that they were warming up to the idea. Soon the whole group was nodding and began talking over whether or not she could actually do it, or if this was just some gag she was pulling. She smiled as they doubted her abilities. Melissa couldn't wait to see their faces when she was done.

"Oy, Markin. Get over there and untie her," Leon called to one of the knights. The young one who had looked at her in surprise earlier walked over to her.

"Thanks, but no thanks." she called to the knights, calmly stepping forward and tossing the rope with her left hand. The knight barely caught it, and she couldn't help but chuckle. The other knights looked at her, all of them at least a little surprised, and intrigued at how she had slipped through the rope. Markin was the first to ask her, "How did you do that?"

"Come on, wouldn't Camelot's finest know how to slip out of bonds?"

They continued to look at her, Markin especially expectantly.

She decided that there was no harm in telling them, so Melissa answered the question. "Just dislocate your wrist," she explained nonchalantly, taking a moment to crack the bone back into place. The only sign of the pain was a bitten lip and a small grunt. "It's a little trick I picked up along the way."

"How do you do that?" Markin asked, looking a bit terrified at the prospect.

"It's simple really; you just apply a lot of force and slip a bone out of position. It allows your wrist to narrow and slip through something it wouldn't have fit through before. The hardest part is relaxing your mind enough to allow your body to harm itself."

"Does it hurt?" the young knight continued to ask.

"No," Melissa replied, sarcasm dripping from every layer of her tone, "it's rather comforting, like getting a massage in a spring rain." She rolled her eyes. "Is this seriously the famed knights of Camelot?" At that moment, Melissa felt the ground shake and she spun around just in time to roll out of the way of a charging griffin. She cursed loudly as she hit the ground, briefly wondering what the knights thought of that, before swinging a hunting knife into each hand. Those beasts could be sneaky when they wanted to. She guessed that was one reason she like fighting creatures of magic better than hunting woodland animals. She could feel a little more intelligence in these beings, but it did make her feel slightly bad about having to kill them. As the griffin spun around to face her, Melissa threw the knives at the spikes on either side of the beast, cutting the tips off of each of the spikes so they were now dull and unable to impale her in case she got a little too close for comfort. Then she ran to the nearest tree, leaping up to the first limb and landing like a cat. As she did, she felt a rush of air and saw a flash of color as the griffin attempted to snatch her out of the air. She savored the adrenaline rush coursing through her, heightening her already trained senses. Climbing further up and into the tree, but only by a branch or two, she looked back at the griffin. It stood on its hind legs, steadying itself against the trunk of the tree. Melissa pulled out her bow and arrow, carefully attempting to steady her shot as the tree trembled violently, convulsing in an odd up and down motion. She let another curse slip when she did, nearly stumbling out of the tree; however, she quickly found this to her advantage. She let gravity take her for a moment, then kicked her leg out so she caught it on a limb and swung around, bow and arrow still in grip. As she swung even with the creature's eye level, Melissa stabbed one of the eyes with an arrow, pulled the bow back onto her back, and threw a smaller knife into the griffin's other eye after wrapping her legs around another branch. The creature fell back, obviously trying to figure out how to stop the pain in its eyes. Flipping out of the tree and landing in a crouch, she drew her blade and held very still. She didn't even appear to breathe, causing the knights to wonder what she was doing.

Finally Arthur called out, "Hey! Are you going to finish the job, or did you get too weak stomached for it?" He laughed a bit, but soon stopped when he saw Melissa appear to snap back to reality and dive out of the way of the griffin's tail. A snake curled at the end of it, and at the sound of Arthur's voice reared up and lunged at Melissa. While she tried to kick out of range, one of the fangs sliced at her arm, causing a couple of the knights to gasp. Kay and Leon moved to run toward her, but Arthur pulled them back, waiting for her reaction. She stood and engaged the snake, slicing at it with her own blade and attempting to duck out of the way. After a while of fighting, with Melissa gaining many scrapes and cuts from the sharp scales, she threw another small knife, distracting the snake as it dove for where the knife reflected the sun. She then cut the snakes head off and knelt over the fatal wound. The griffin screamed loudly, forcing the knights to cover their ears. Melissa ran up the griffin, racing along its chest toward the open mouth. As the pitch reached an unbearable frequency, she plunged the blade into the creature's throat. The griffin shuddered once, knocking Melissa to the ground, and then lay still.

Melissa laid on the ground for a few moments slowly inspecting each of her muscles in her mind as she stretched her feet, then legs, continuing up to turning her head where she lay. The knights had rushed over to her and the griffin, and when she opened her eyes, Kay and Markin leaned over her.

She chuckled at their nervous expressions. "Lighten up, it's not like it's my funeral. You should be mourning over the griffin."

Markin nodded, quickly scrambling away; a little nervous of her now that he had seen how deadly she was capable of being. Kay stayed with her.

"Shouldn't you be heading back to your friends?"

He looked down at her, not able to stop himself from smiling. She had certainly grown up, and he was very impressed with how she had become so adept with Praeditus. "Can you even hear what I'm saying right now?"

Melissa saw his lips move, but smiled shaking her head. "Griffin screams deafen anyone who has to get that close. It'll wear off soon."

Kay wished she was right, since the knights, and more importantly, Arthur, would want to talk with her. She wouldn't want to appear weak to them, but he knew that the group was fairly impressed with her skills in her fight with the griffin. Kay suddenly remembered the sign language he had taught her a little of. He hoped she could still use it, but she had always been very bright and quick to pick things up. He quickly signed to her.

_Do you remember this?_

She smiled and nodded. _How could I forget?_ Melissa returned in a sign. She had loved learning this. The knights of Camelot were famous for their ability to always communicate with each other and figure out plans. One way they did this was using their hands to sign to each other so they could discuss plans and orders even when hiding near the enemy. Kay had taught it to her, just in case, he had told her at the time. _Now get out of here before your friends start to think I'm some sort of long lost daughter of yours._ Kay gave her one last look over before walking casually over to the griffin, talking to Leon and giving some excuse about her being fine and, remarkably, rather uninjured from the fight.

Melissa stood up and looked at Arthur. Kay arranged himself so he stood in the back of the group, but still in a spot where Melissa could see him signing what Arthur would say to her. She didn't want them all know she couldn't hear at the moment.

"Ready to do the honors?" she gestured to the griffin lying between her and the knights. Arthur drew out his sword and walked up to the creature's neck. "You might not want to cut off the head. It's rather difficult, not to mention hard to carry all the way to your shining citadel. A foot would be easier."

Arthur looked back at her, then sheathed his sword. "It isn't my kill. I can't take credit for this."

Melissa looked a little surprised. Nobles usually just took what they wanted, not actually caring about acting noble at all. "So does this mean you're arresting me?"

"No, I think you've earned your freedom. You did give us quite a nice show." He smiled at her, and she didn't see any trace of sarcasm in it. Melissa was a bit taken aback, but recovered quickly and crossed her arms.

"Well, it was nice doing business with you. Can't say I'd like to do so again though, so you might want to hurry back to Camelot. Gangs in these forests don't think very well of wealthy strangers wandering about."

He nodded, but soon gave an arrogant grin. "I think we can handle ourselves."

"Are you sure? After all, you couldn't even take down a griffin without a little girl's help. Trust me, after you've met some of them, you'll be begging for a griffin."

"You do know I could still arrest you. Besides, how would you know anything about these vicious gangs?"

"Experience," Melissa replied simply, before ducking into the forest, seeming to disappear into the breaking of the morning. As she skipped over rocks and cut her way through the trees, she let her mind slip to the day she had gotten the trusty blade at her side.

•

_Melissa searched the night for the man she had finally met, her father, but she knew it was in vain. Her mother a way off from her clutching Merlin and trying to contain her sobbing as she quietly begged the boy to wake up. Melissa knew she should be with them, holding close to who she had left, to whom she had always had, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She sat with her knees to her chest, her arms securing herself into a small lump. Her eyes scanned the scene before her, soaking in everything, burning it into a picture she would never forget. The torches cast light into the dark forest surrounding her home as they searched for her father, who had ran into the wood. Suddenly, a shadow fell across her dimly lit features. Looking up a bit in fear, she saw one of the knights. He wore a cloak that resembled blood in the knight, causing bile to rise in her throat, but she quickly swallowed it. He crouched down to her height._

_"I'm sorry."_

_Her eyes widened. These men seemed mean, evil, for snatching her father from her. Her mother had always told her to accept apologies though, so she quickly did, nodding in response._

_"It's okay," she said automatically, but it wasn't, nothing was okay._

_"No," the knight said with a small, sad smile, looking more like a grimace than anything else, "it's not."_

_She felt a little better that he seemed to understand that what he'd done was wrong, but that wasn't bringing her father back. She felt some tears start to prick at her eyes, and they began to slide down her cheeks. Mother said it was good to cry if you were sad. It kept you from holding the bad feelings in. When the knight noticed she was crying, he looked a bit uncomfortable. She closed her eyes, but soon felt a tap on her shoulder._

_"Could you do me a favor?" Melissa opened her eyes and nodded, another automatic response from her mother's lessons in good manners, always be willing to help others. He held out a blade to her. It looked like a large sword to her, but compared to his size it was slimmer, more of a lengthened dagger. Her mother had always told her to stay away from those._

_"Could you give this to your brother when he wakes up? Tell him I'll come back someday to teach him how to use it."_

_Melissa nodded again. "What's your name?" he asked, as though he was trying to get her to speak._

_"Melissa," she responded, the word barely a whisper._

_"My name's Kay. It's a pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand and they shook formally. She smiled a little at the action. _

_"Does the sword have a name?" she asked suddenly._

_He looked a little surprised, but smiled. "Yes, it does. It's called Praeditus."_

_"Praeditus," she echoed. "That's an odd name."_

_"Yes, well, it's Latin."_

_She cocked her head to one side, silently asking him to continue._

_"It's a different language. Praeditus means gifted."_

_"Gifted? Is it because it's a present?"_

_This time Kay laughed, and she blushed a little. She thought that was a good question!_

_"No, gifted means talented. Whoever bears this weapon would be one of extreme skill, one gifted in combat."_

_"Oh."_

_"Kay!" a man's voice called, "We found him! Time to move out!"_

_Kay stood abruptly, "Coming!" He turned to Melissa. "I'll be back, okay?"_

_"Okay. But you have to shake on it," she informed seriously._

_Melissa spit into her hand and held it out. Kay seemed a little taken aback, but Melissa impatiently gestured for him to do the same. "Will always does it, he says nothing's really official until you shake on it, then you can't back out." He eventually copied her action, and the two shook._

_"It's a date." Then he turned and jumped on his horse, riding into the night._

•

Melissa smiled at the memory, turning into the village and slipping into the back door of her home. She had never given Merlin the blade, for she wanted to be gifted. He had returned once, and she had almost attacked him when he did. That was when she had learned to sign. He had promised to come see her again, but that was one date he never kept. He hadn't shook on it either. Walking into the house to hide her weapons, and shake the slim sadness that had slipped over her, she was met with a voice.

"Ah, there you are. Do you usually sneak out of the house fully armed, or is this just a once in full moon sort of thing?" Sure enough, the last face she wanted to see stood in the center of her one room home. Gwaine had his arms crossed over his chest and was standing casually, only appearing slightly amused at her entrance. His face suddenly became one of mild concern once he took in her appearance. "What happened to you? It looks like you got in a fight with a thorn bush, and the thorn bush won."

"Haha, how am I even still breathing in the face of such incredible wit. Besides, you should see the other guy," Melissa dead-panned in response, rolling her eyes and putting her hands on her hips for what she was sure was the hundredth time that day. Gwaine chuckled lightly at her response, and she noticed how much his eyes sparkled in the light when he was in a good mood, which appeared to be constantly. _Snap out of it, Melissa!_, she reprimanded herself. _Just because he has pretty eyes does not mean you should start fawning over him._ She crossed her arms over her chest in defiance, but winced as she did so, finally feeling the effects of the fight. The world began to blacken a little as the ground rushed up to meet her. She saw a movement before she was swallowed in the darkness and moved herself away from the arms that moved to catch her. Melissa Ambrosius would never be a damsel in distress, much less _his _damsel in distress.

Whew! That's the longest chapter I've ever written! How about celebrating with a review? :D I hope you all enjoyed learning more about Melissa and finally seeing the conclusion of her and Arthur's meeting. Bye for now!


	14. Chapter 14

Guten Tag! This one is probably more recognizable than last chapter's, any guesses? Here we go, Chapter 14, enjoy!

_"Aravis," a tall, silvery figure stood before her. He placed a hand on her shoulder in greeting. She stood, momentarily distracted as her eyes followed the wisp of another figure disappearing from the misty realm._

_ "Father," she responded, placing her hand on his shoulder in turn, appearing as though she did not notice the figure so as not to raise suspicion. "How do you fare?"_

_ "As well as one shall endure."_

_ "May I beseech an answer from you?"_

_ "What does it concern?"_

_ "For what purpose have I been called forth? I do not recall an urgency for such a meeting reflected in my actions."_

_ "You seem weary, what have you done?"_

_ "Done? Nothing, my father, I have done nothing but look for another way to serve your realm and our mission."_

_ "Do lie to me."_

_ "I swear it, Father; I hide nothing from your sight, as though I would even be able to behold such a feat. You would find me out for certain with your keen eye."_

_ "You would do well to remember that."_

_ The mist suddenly swirled away, draining from her mind and disconnecting her with a small pop and a pull at her thoughts._

•

Melissa's eyelids fluttered open, revealing the dim lighting of her home. She realized she was lying down, and immediately moved to push herself up. The pain the met the movement made her cry out, more of surprise than anything else, and for a moment she could not remember where she was. A dull throbbing filled her head at the light and sudden movement, and she slowly brought her hand to her head, feeling a bump there.

"You're awake."

Melissa looked at the sound of _that_ voice, and, sure enough, there stood Gwaine. She realized this was the second time that day she had seen him standing in her house like that. This time he held a bowl of water and walked over to her, dipping a rag in it.

"How long have I been out?"

"Three hours. You had a fever, so I'm guessing you got an infection of some kind."

Melissa groaned and rubbed her eyes, ignoring the aching she had grown used to. Whenever she fought she always looked worse than how she felt. For some reason, she had a high pain tolerance, but bruised and bled very easily. It had always been her most annoying trait, at least in her opinion, and she had come to hate how weak it made her look.

"I need to get up," she stated moving to do so when Gwaine pushed her back down with one hand.

"I don't think so."

Melissa glared at him and insisted. "I've been taking care of myself a lot longer than you have. After I get in a fight I need to keep moving. If I sit around and nurse my wounds too long, they just get worse."

Gwaine cocked his head and looked at her. "Nice try, but that's not what happens."

"Maybe not what normally happens, but it's what happens with me. It's like I have to remind my body I'm still alive." Melissa smiled wryly at her explanation and moved to stand again. This time Gwaine didn't stop her, but she fell back onto the pile of blankets she had been on. Gwaine caught her before she hit the ground, smiling and looking rather proud of himself.

"Got you this time."

"Is that why I have this annoying lump on my head?"

"Maybe. It's not my fault you leapt away from me. I didn't know I was that repulsive," Gwaine replied, mocking hurt.

"Well, we learn something new every day." Melissa smiled cheekily and Gwaine laughed. "Besides, I was fainting," Melissa paused to gag at the thought, "I can't exactly 'leap away from you'."

"You would have found a way to."

"Of course, the whole damsel and distress act doesn't suit me." They both laughed at that and Melissa noticed how relaxed she was. She could barely feel the soreness of her muscles or the stinging from her cuts. She had actually spoken to Gwaine for more than two seconds and hadn't glared at him. No, she had laughed with him instead. Maybe he wasn't so bad. _No, what are you thinking! He's just like any of the customers from the taverns._ She pushed herself up and away from him as she realized exactly how close they had been to each other. Gwaine looked a little confused and, hurt? It was quickly masked as he cleared his throat. Melissa desperately tried to think of something to say, but she still felt unusually weak, even for her. Suddenly she was struck with inspiration. The snake. When Arthur had called out and alerted the snake, she had been bit. Obviously it hadn't been anything too deep, or else she probably would be dead by now. The adrenaline she felt must have pushed the effects of the poison away in the moment, but now she could feel it. She needed to find her stash of narcer root. She had some of it hidden away for when her injuries were very bad, but since Gwaine was here she couldn't get to it. She needed to get him out.

"What are you still doing here anyway? The arrangement was a meal and a place to sleep for the night," Melissa snapped, "not to sit around all day."

Gwaine was taken aback by her tone. Usually he could read people fairly well; it was a trait one had to have when you lived on the run. Just moments ago she had seemed happy, relaxed. He had been sure he never would get to see that side of her. Now he felt as though he never would again. "What am I doing here? Waiting for you, taking care of you," he trailed off a bit as he listed why he had been here. Though he never wanted to admit it, he had been worried when he woke up and found that Melissa was gone, again. Hunith and Merlin had been worried as well when she wasn't back in time for breakfast and the pair had to leave for work. He had promised to wait here for her so they could go to work and not worry about her not being taken care of.

"I don't need to be taken care of."

"Really, because I'm not so sure of that. You passed out only moments after walking in here."

"Only because I was bitten by a snake!"

"So you did fight a griffin."

Melissa was a little surprised by how quickly he had deduced that, but had a glare in place before he could suspect anything. "What's it to you?" she snarled.

"I've only been keeping you from burning up with fever since you swooned." Gwaine knew he was mentioning that word only because it irritated her, but at the moment, he didn't really care. He just wished he could understand how she could be so warm and friendly to him one moment, and then sharp and cold the next.

"I did not swoon!"

He smirked at her response. "Seemed like it to me."

"You are insufferable."

"Hey, don't hate me 'cause I'm beautiful," he responded with a wink, knowing nothing else would infuriate her more.

She slapped him when he said that, even surprising Gwaine. "Get out!" she shouted, pretty much hysterical by this point. She knew she was overreacting, but she wanted nothing more than for him to leave so she could get to the narcer root and stop the poison of the snake from spreading. She could feel it pulsing through her veins and, though it had been a small dose, she knew it could prove far more dangerous for her. "I never want to see you again!" She pushed him out the door and slammed it shut, exhausting her already small frame with the effort.

As soon as he was gone, Melissa gathered herself as best she could to look for her pouch in the ashes of the hearth. She opened it quickly; eager for sweet relief, but nothing met her expectant eyes. She felt around the small pouch, but there was nothing there. Dumping it upside down and shaking it rather frantically, she let out a frustrated huff as she threw the bag down, and ran to the back door. The poison was leaving a ragged fire in her now, and each movement burned, but she kept moving. She kept mentally encouraging herself. She was stronger than this; she had always been strong enough before.

Heading back into the forest, she saw the small stream she had been looking for. Dropping to her knees, Melissa began tearing at the soft mud around her, throwing herself into her search for the yellow flowers that would mark her success. At last, she discovered her prize, the bright yellow on top marred with mud from the intensity of her search. Quickly rinsing the root of mud in the water, she began chewing it with silent satisfaction. The coolness that flooded through her distinguished the fire, causing her to moan with the pleasure it brought as she fell onto her back. Melissa knew she would have to get up and inspect her wounds, but all she wanted was to rest, to not fight, if only for a moment. Her eyes closed, she tried to imagine a world where things would be taken care of, where starvation and threats were not looming behind every corner. A world with no secrets. She felt herself drift into sleep, but as the curls of silver mist began to ensnare her, Melissa jerked up. She didn't need that, not now.

Rolling over so she was now facing the stream, she looked at her fluid reflection. She knew her body would not be too badly hurt, only her arms and face had been touched. She smiled at herself for this accomplishment. The griffin had not stepped on her or thrown her against a tree, keeping her ribs intact. Her face, however, sported a cut along her right cheekbone and various scratches from tree limbs she had ducked through. Any blood that she imagined would have been dried on her skin from the wounds had been washed off, and she traced a few of the larger scrapes, reflecting on Gwaine. He hadn't deserved her temper, but he confused her. She wasn't used to be taking care of her. She wasn't used to people not asking questions. Her mother and brother obviously loved her. They always strove to take care of her, but they only knew half of the things she did to keep their family from starving, especially during the winter. She knew that her mother would be horrified if she knew the true story of her daughter's life, and Merlin, he would probably just be upset that she never let him help. But he couldn't, that's what he didn't understand. He wasn't raised to deal with her world like she had been. And even if he could, she wouldn't want him to.

That was where Gwaine confused her. He seemed to be cut from a similar cloth as her, as much as it pained Melissa to think it. If he found out the truth about her, she didn't know how he'd react. He'd probably just, not react. And that scared her. Nothing scared Melissa; she had trained herself not to be. But he did. That sort of acceptance, the understanding that life is rough. Someone who had to have been through something if he could be sweet enough to tend to her scrapes, but still misled enough to be in those taverns in the first place.

Blinking, waking her from her thoughts, she stared back into the eyes peering at her from the stream. She drank in her own dark eyes, realizing she had never really looked into them. They didn't strike her as anything special, but she supposed they did have a certain quality about them; they didn't look beaten, like so many of the village women's. _No,_ she thought, reprimanding herself as she glared at her phantom like face in the water. _You are not to think of him again. You kicked him out and he's gone and good riddance. He would have been nothing but trouble anyway._ And with that Melissa tore herself away from the forest for the second time that day and ran back to her home, content that she had resolved to never bother with Gwaine again, no matter how charming those brown eyes could be.

Hello! So, questions, comments, concerns? This was my first Gwaine/Melissa centric chapter, I hope you all enjoyed. Don't worry, she certainly won't make things easy for him, and this story won't only be about them. We have a long way to go and a lot more characters to meet, so I hope you enjoy the ride! I'm having so much fun with this and I'd love to know if you are too!


	15. Chapter 15

Ahoj! This language is probably more difficult to recognize than the last one, but someone may be familiar with it… Anyway, on with the story, whatever will happen next? :)

Btw… ~~~ ~~ ~~~ means the point of view has changed

After getting a door slammed in his face, Gwaine found himself wandering around the village. He had been run out of places before, and usually it was of no consequence to him, he just found a new town until his luck ran out there. But he didn't want to leave Ealdor, not yet. It was a fairly intriguing place, if only because she was here. He had so much left to learn about her, but it was becoming increasingly difficult, especially since he'd been kicked out of her house and she didn't seem all that eager to see him after that. _Well_, he thought, passing by what he thought was the same field for the fifth time (it was the one thing about farming that he never understood, or liked: everything looked the same), _she did just get attacked by a griffin._

"Gwaine?" a feminine voice called. Gwaine turned casually, despite being a bit startled. Hunith and Merlin were just walking in from the fields and quickly caught up with him.

"I'm guessing Melissa's back home, right?" her mother asked nervously.

"Yes, she's resting in the house."

"Resting? What happened?" Hunith's eyes darted about Gwiane's face willing it to give her any information.

"Oh, it's nothing serious. Melissa was sleep-walking last night and ended up in the forest. She has some scratches from tree branches, but she's perfectly safe."

Hunith looked relieved, but a little concerned that Melissa had wandered into the middle of the forest at night. "Thank you for looking out for her, it means a lot."

"It was no trouble at all." _Yeah right_, he couldn't help but think in response to his own words. Still, he had liked helping her, being useful had actually felt good. She had seemed so peaceful, for a moment, before her fever dreams began. He hadn't caught any of her muttering, but she looked fairly disturbed by it.

"Well, you must stay for dinner."

Gwaine looked up at Hunith's words. "That's alright; I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome."

"I insist. We can certainly spare some food for you, and a place to sleep for the night. When do you plan on finding a job in the fields?"

"Thank you for your hospitality. I was planning on speaking with the lord of the manor in the morning."

"Good." Hunith nodded her head appreciatively, she was glad Merlin had found such a responsible young man. As they three walked home, she watched the two laugh and talk. Merlin hadn't had many friends, which had been good when he was younger, when he couldn't control his magic, and he still wasn't very good at that. Except for Will, he had been alone, but at least there was Melissa to keep him from getting lonely around the house. She walked farther behind the young men, though it was hard for her to think of Merlin that way, but was stopped by a young boy.

"Excuse me, Gaius sends his greetings and this message for you." The messenger held out a letter, and Hunith almost dropped it once she took it in her own hands.

"Thank you." After pressing a coin into the boy's hand, she walked to the side of her home to read it. If it was rejection, Hunith did not want to get Merlin's hopes up for no reason. However, her fears were dispelled within the first few lines. Breathing a sigh of relief, she pressed the letter to her chest and closed her eyes. For once, her boy could be safe. For once, he could be properly looked after.

"Mother?" The very boy who had occupied her thoughts moments before appeared near her. "You're coming in for supper, right?"

"Oh, yes. Of course. I was just relaxing a bit before going in. It's awfully hot out, are you sure you weren't feeling faint earlier?"

Merlin rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Yes, Mother. I've been working in the fields for years now; a little heat won't kill me."

Hunith allowed a small frown following the end of his statement, but soon smiled, as she could never stay in a bad humor with her grinning son so close to her.

"We have to check on Melissa too."

With Merlin's words reminding her of her daughter's currently unknown state, Hunith hurried into the house as quickly as she could, being careful not to allow the letter to slip from the folds of her simple dress.

As Melissa slipped through the back door, her mind groped for an excuse to explain the scrapes and cut, not to mention the tears in her clothes. Once safely inside, she hurried to the rack she draped yesterday's dress on. Quickly pulling off her shirt and unbraiding her hair, Melissa knelt to tuck the shirt back in the small corner she used to hide her less feminine items. She lamented the state of the shirt momentarily, it looked like she'd have to steal a new one, as her current one was torn from the snake's sharp scales. _Damn prince_, she couldn't help but think. It had been his fault for calling out and alerting the snake-tail in the first place. Just as she had started to unwrap the strips of cloth that held her chest tightly to her, someone cleared their throat. Melissa froze, unsure, internally cursing herself for being so careless in her rush to not be discovered. Praying to whoever might be listening it was not her mother, she actually found herself relieved when she spun around, her arms crossed over her chest, to find Gwaine standing in her house once more. However, the moment soon passed, and anger began to course through Melissa instead. How long had he been standing there? How had she allowed him to sneak up on her like that?

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" was the one question that seethed out of Melissa.

"Well, it was a difficult decision, but judging on your reaction, I think it's safe to say I made the right one."

Melissa only grew more irritated by his casual manner. "You think? If you hadn't so graciously announced yourself, I would have found you and torn your eyes out personally."

"Hey, we all need to move on. This isn't working out babe, no need to be so clingy. I'm flattered you'd go through the effort of chasing after me, but we need to let go." His smirk was in place and Melissa was angered enough by his teasing before he added, "Besides, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

Memories of taverns spun through Melissa's mind, leaving her bristling. Tensing her muscles to prevent her from doing something rash, like murdering him, she hissed. "Call me babe one more time and see where it gets you. Besides," she started, mocking his last statement, "you're not supposed to be here. I thought I made that clear enough before." Her voice had turned from an irritated joke to a hardened promise by the end of her response.

"Trust me; I'm not back by choice. You're mother insisted that I stay again tonight."

Melissa rolled her eyes. Why did her mother have to be so generous?

"Don't look too happy about it," he answered her expression sarcastically, "it's only for tonight, then I'm going to ask after work in the fields."

"No you're not." Melissa's answer was a flat statement, something she was certain about.

Gwaine smiled in response, looking amused at her assumption. It hadn't been accusatory or disapproving, it had simply, well, been. She was right though, there was no way Gwaine would ever work in a field or tie himself down in one town for too long. Not like this village had any tavern. No, it contained something far more intriguing than alcohol, Ealdor had Melissa.

"So, are you going to get dressed, or do you enjoy walking around half-clothed. Either way is fine by me."

She glared daggers into his eyes, and then faced the wall again. "You are going to turn your back and close your eyes first. And if you peek at all, I'll know, and do I need to reiterate my threat about tearing your eyes out?"

"I think you just did."

Melissa peered over her shoulder to find his back facing her and decided that she did need to hurry and change. Years of practice had her in her dress in no time, and it wasn't long before she slipped out of the house again through the back door, leaving Gwaine standing with his eyes shut. Walking around to the front of the house to greet her mother and Merlin, she smiled at her small revenge. After all, giving him some time to reflect on his behavior wasn't so bad, and he of all people needed it.

Next chapter, the story starts to collide with the show! I hope you enjoyed this one, although I had no original intention of making it so focused on Gwaine/Melissa right after the last chapter, but my fingers tend to have a mind of their own once I start typing… Anyway, thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 16

Privet! (or привет) The alphabet may be more recognizable than the word on this one :) I just wanted to take a moment to thank CVEmily for following AAW! Alright, this is Chapter 16, one I'm super excited about! Enjoy and tell me what you think…this is where the story collides with the first episode of the show a bit :)

"Melissa!" She looked up at the sound of her name to see her mother walking over to her. She was certain that her mother calling out to her would alert Gwaine that she was no longer behind him, but she felt that he had stood there for a satisfactory amount of time. Merlin came running over to her from the side of the house, and soon both were inspecting her cut and looking at the scrapes on her face. Melissa was relieved her dress was long sleeved; at least she wouldn't have to put up with them fretting over the scratches on her arms as well.

"You had as all worried about you; I thought that you had run off again." Melissa felt a bit ashamed at making her family wonder over her, but she knew it had been for a good purpose; however, she was confused as to why her mother wasn't lecturing her on the necessity of safety and propriety and how she shouldn't go out into the forest on her own.

"If it hadn't been for Gwaine telling us about you sleep walking, we thought you might have actually wandered into the forest on your own accord," Merlin filled in, the look in his eyes obviously telling her he was not as quick to believe the story.

Sleep walking? Since when did she sleep walk? She noticed Gwaine walk up behind her mother and brother.

"Yes, of course I was concerned to find her scraped when she came home, but I had seen her get up in the middle of the night. At first I thought she was only getting some air, but it's now clear she was sleepwalking," the look in his eyes clearly telling her to go along with the excuse. "As you can see it's merely from tree branches, nothing to worry about."

Hunith nodded her consent before ushering Melissa into the house.

"We need to prepare supper if we're to eat at a decent time; I wish we could've gotten back sooner to check on you. I suppose I'll have to watch out for this new habit as well!" Her mother exclaimed, but not unkindly. Hunith smiled at her daughter, happy for the easy excuse, as she did not want to believe Melissa had gotten herself into yet another fight.

Before long, they four sat around the table once more, this time only some bread for everyone. Melissa hated that, she glared at the bread as though it was mocking her for her failed hunt. In her need to get away from the knights and her hurry to get home before anything was suspected, she hadn't succeeded in retrieving any game. _Tomorrow_, she thought, _I'll have to go out again, but this time, I'm not leaving until I find something_.

Melissa was fairly silent throughout the meal, and she found herself watching Gwaine and Merlin's animated conversation as Merlin regaled them with Will's prank on Alyssa. _It's almost as though he belongs here._ Melissa scolded herself, what had happened to her decision to ignore Gwaine? She turned her thoughts to Will as the story unfolded.

Melissa hadn't seen Will in a while, almost as though he was avoiding her. She couldn't help but think how strange that was, while the two had grown apart through the barriers of gender, age, and work, they had always talked and even played tricks on Alyssa from time to time, often dragging Merlin in on them. Melissa would still leave meat from hunting and other food she stole off of merchants passing through their village on his family's doorstep. Pushing her concern to the back of her mind, she suddenly noticed her mother's face. At the mention of Will, she became uncharacteristically nervous, especially since she had always welcomed Will as a friend of the family. She and Belka, Will's mother, had even grown up together. Melissa also tucked this observation away, determined to look into it. If there was one thing she was grateful to her independent lifestyle for, it was the ability to read people and quickly assess situations, even if they only dealt with small domestic troubles. Of course, in a village as small as Ealdor, small domestic troubles were everyone's business.

Noticing the small fire they used to light and warm the house was growing dim, Melissa walked over to prod it in a small effort of persuasion to keep the fire burning. She really wasn't in the mood to scrounge up a few more sticks to feed the flames. Realizing the circle of rocks surrounding the base was out of place, Melissa moved the stones back into a neat circle when she saw a bit of paper sticking out from underneath one of the rocks. Picking it up, she realized it was a letter, and there was only one person her mother would ever write to.

Gaius.

Unfolding the letter, she began to read his response, but Melissa didn't need to. She already knew why her mother had sent the initial correspondence and what the response would be. There would never be a reason why Gaius, who had served as an uncle to her mother, would refuse Merlin. Melissa had been worried about her brother's safety for many years now, but apparently it had reached the breaking point for her mother. But it didn't matter why Merlin would be sent away or where he was going, though she could not deny the growing twinge of jealousy for him being able to see Camelot, she would lose her brother. The one person she trusted above all others, the one she swore to protect, the one she had kept secrets for and had done the same for her, would be gone. Although she knew Camelot would not be the best place for her to go, she still longed to see the highly spoken of citadel, especially if it meant staying with her brother. A sudden anger flared in her and before she could think of the consequences she walked over to her mother and held up the letter.

"Care to explain?" Melissa dropped the letter, allowing it to helplessly flutter into her mother's lap. "It must be so lovely to hear from Gaius after all this time."

Gwaine looked on curiously, but Merlin watched with tense excitement.

"Word from Gaius? I didn't know you wrote to him?"

Hunith looked at her son, unsure how to answer his question. She wished Melissa hadn't of found the letter, since she did not seem to understand tact, or the appropriate time to bring up family matters.

"I did write to him, thank you for bringing me his response, Melissa." She looked at her daughter sternly for a moment, and Melissa noticeably slid down in her chair under the gaze. "Merlin, I have wonderful news. Gaius has agreed to tutor you as his assistant." She gave Merlin an apologetic yet hopeful look, wishing to ease any of his uncertainties about leaving her and Melissa. Merlin looked a little stunned. They had discussed this as a family before, and while everyone had agreed him leaving if neighbors became too suspicious would be best, he had pushed it from his mind. Merlin looked over at Melissa, already seeing the tension rising inside of her. He didn't like to think about leaving his mother and sister to fend for themselves, but he couldn't deny he was excited to finally leave the tiny village and see Camelot. He had only heard stories, but he knew he couldn't stay in Ealdor forever.

"When do I leave?" he finally asked, deciding it would be best to focus on the details of the journey instead of the emotions surrounding it.

Hunith was noticeably relieved at Merlin's easy acceptance. "Tomorrow morning I would hope. I set you to arrive on Wednesday."

"Well, that's rather in a hurry to get him out of the house." Melissa commented sharply.

"Melissa-" but before Hunith could finish, Melissa was talking again.

"Why can't I go as well? Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I'd like to get out of this forsaken village once in my life? Besides, I could study medicine just as well as Merlin."

"Melissa, do not interrupt me when I'm talking to you. You understand full well why Merlin is going; please try to be happy for him."

Melissa crossed her arms. She knew she was pouting, but she couldn't help it. Yes, Merlin got to go because he was special. Well, what if she was special too! She hated how blind her mother could be, didn't she see how desperate she was to see something new. Melissa knew she had a certain responsibility to look after the villagers as she had always done, but she wanted to try something new. But it was always Merlin who was looked after, Merlin who got to go places, Merlin who was wonderful. She knew her mother loved her too, but she couldn't help but feel like she didn't always fit in. Every once in awhile Melissa would have a moment when she just didn't feel right, like she wasn't where she was supposed to be.

"But that's beside the point, Melissa, you need to stay here." Melissa tuned back in to her mother's explanation to catch the tail-end of it.

"Why?"

"Well, I guess this is a night of surprises for both of you. This isn't exactly how I wanted to tell you, love, but I have some important news for your future."

Melissa's heart began to speed up. For a girl who stared down gangs, faced griffins, and fought marauders, there was only one thing that brought that creeping fear into her being. Well, technically two things, disappointing her mother, and the "M" word, and she was fairly sure both were about to happen.

"Belka and I were talking a few weeks ago and we thought that it was time you considered more of your future. Will's close to your age and a very nice young man-"

"So that's it, you're m-" she couldn't bring herself to say it. "Marrying me off to Will." Melissa finally spit out, dead panning the statement.

"Melissa, that's not what I want you to think of this as. I want only the best for you, but unfortunately we live in a world that's safer for a woman if she's married. You're a young woman now, and it's time to accept you're growing up. I don't want to hurt you like this, but I need to ensure you'll be safe and taken care of."

Melissa was fueled by the unfairness of it all. Merlin got to be young and carefree and go to the famed Camelot, while she was stuck her, doomed to be a farmer's wife. She almost felt ill at the thought. Never would she actually subject herself to that.

"You think I need to be taken care of? Are you really that blind, Mother? Who keeps this family alive? Do you think those coins that always happen to appear in time for taxes just conjure themselves onto our table? Do you think the extra meat in the winter just happens to be in our home? If you think I need a man to take care of me, then you have had your eyes shut very tightly for a very long time." She narrowed her voice so the last part came out in a solemn, pointed tone, dangerously sharp.

"Melissa," Hunith's tone sharpened in response, "I do recognize what you do for this family. I appreciate your desire to help, but you don't need to burden this alone. Will is a good man, he'll help you. You two always got along well as children."

"That doesn't mean I want to marry him. That doesn't mean I love him."

Hunith sighed. She loved her daughter dearly, but she could be very unreasonable. She hated the feeling of forcing Melissa into a marriage, after all, she had been young and in love, once upon a time. But the world was dangerous, and Melissa needed to realize she'd need help. Her boyish behavior certainly did not make finding suitors any easier. She was lucky Will was willing to listen to his mother and marry her.

"If you think I'm going to marry Will, you're wrong. I'm never getting married!" Melissa stood up and strode out the door, walking into the now dark night.

Hunith slumped down in her chair, exhausted from her stubborn daughter. Merlin stood silently, placed a hand on her shoulder and turned to walk outside.

"I'll talk to her."

Hunith nodded her thanks and went to clear the dishes when she remembered Gwaine. He must have heard the whole ordeal, and she felt embarrassment run to her cheeks. Walking quickly to the back door, she went to look for Gwaine to apologize to her guest. She found him walking onto the main road out of Ealdor.

"Gwaine!" she called out. The young man stopped and turned around. Hunith caught up and stood in front of him. "Are you certain you'd leave so soon, and at night? It's dangerous enough without the cover of darkness."

Gwaine chuckled. He couldn't help but be warmed by Hunith's concern; he couldn't remember the last time someone had cared enough to worry about him traveling alone. Well, he could, but he didn't like to. "I'm sure I'll make it. I've faced much worse than a bit of darkness before."

Hunith nodded. "I fear I must apologize for myself and Melissa, I hadn't expected things to become so tense." Well, maybe she had, but she hadn't been prepared for the audience. She would actually say Melissa's reaction had been fairly docile compared to what could have been.

"There's nothing to apologize for. Trust me, I've seen family's fight before, that was nothing. I would like to thank you for your kindness, and the food, though."

Hunith nodded, grateful for his understanding. She expected him to continue on his way, but instead he spoke again.

"I don't mean to interfere with your business, but I wouldn't worry about Melissa. I've met a lot of people on my travels, but no one comes close to her. You have a treasure in a daughter like her, try not to forget that." Then he walked past her, disappearing quickly into the blackness of the thick night. Hunith stood for a moment, absorbing his words. Maybe Melissa would be okay on her own, but she wasn't willing to risk her daughter's safety for her independence.

There you have it! Thanks for reading, I hope you like the family drama. So Merlin's finally headed to Camelot and Melissa's…engaged? ;)


	17. Chapter 17

Shalom! We're back in the Middle East with this one, it might be more recognizable? Before we begin, I'd like to thank PercyForever15 for following AAW and bryghtsparx0913 for following and favoriting! Also, a shout out to Nebriniel Peredhil for favoriting, following, and reviewing, it's what inspires me to keep this story going :)! Thanks a bunch all of you, the support is great! Chapter 17, I hope you enjoy it! Now, on to what you've all been waiting for…Always A Way! :)

Merlin didn't have to count on the light of day to find Melissa. Cutting a straight line through the night, he walked to the side of the house she always leaned on when she wanted to think. He quickly found her hugging herself, her grasp limp, as though she had been trying to hold herself together but her arms had taken on a mind of their own and stopped trying. She didn't look upset, just empty, as though she was a long way from where she stood.

"I'm not really thrilled about medicine, you know."

Melissa didn't react to Merlin's voice, continuing to stare into the enveloping darkness when he sighed and leaned up on the space next to her. Their shoulders rubbed against each other in an odd moment of solidarity, and Merlin could feel heat threading through the weave of his shirt from her. It surprised him, for the night was cool. Merlin eventually lifted his head from the ground and gazed into the dark woods with his sister. He had never fully understood the peace that came to her with the night, he did not find any revelations in the blackened tangle of tree limbs, but she must have seen something, for she suddenly tensed.

He peered deeper into the woods, straining blindly for something, and was eventually rewarded with the fluid movement of an owl swooping out of the trees. Melissa relaxed again, but her eyes retained their focus on the small disturbance.

"But you are thrilled to get out of here."

Merlin turned to her, almost spooked by her voice after such a long period of stillness. Gazing at the strands of hair that stirred in the wind, showing a drowsiness deceiving to the attitude betrayed by Melissa, he answered.

"But not thrilled to leave my home."

She finally turned to look at him. "What sort of home is this? A place where you can't be who you are; a place where no one will ever accept that sometimes people are different. A place where they will never understand that maybe, just maybe, some of us don't want what everyone else wants." The tension in her voice rose, and Merlin knew that her mind wasn't merely on him leaving for Camelot.

"But there are also people who do care about you. People who do want you to be yourself."

"Who, Mother?" Melissa let out a terse laugh that sounded suspiciously like a scoff. "Oh yes, she's so supportive she's decided to plan my whole life for me."

"You know that's what she means. She's only trying to look out for you. These times are dangerous, Melissa, you're not invincible."

A true scoff snorted from Melissa at that. "Try me," she grumbled bitterly. "I understand how dangerous these times are, you're the one who could learn a few things," she responded more clearly.

Merlin looked at her full on, taking advantage of her eye contact. "If you understand so much, how about you start explaining yourself. I know you don't sleep walk." He smiled a bit wryly at this.

"Some things are better not to know."

"Melissa."

She groaned. "Fine, but you have to promise not to get mad. You always worry too much."

He rolled his eyes. "And you never worry enough."

She smirked at this. "I'll tell you, but first promise."

"I promise not to be a sensible person and be concerned when my sister comes home with a cut and scratches and no explanation, even though we live in 'dangerous times'."

Melissa had to stop herself from laughing at her brother's sarcastic tone. "Gee, I feel so much better with a promise like that. Could've been a little more sincere, Merlin."

Even in the night Melissa could see his blue eyes darken as a serious tone replaced the deep chuckle he had offered before.

"I went out hunting this morning."

Merlin nodded, but she could tell he was trying not to become overly concerned. "You didn't bring anything back."

Melissa gave a harsh laugh. "I was distracted."

Merlin crossed his arms and waited for her to continue.

"I came across a griffin, but it's not a big deal, things like that happen when you're in the forest." Melissa shrugged, attempting to be nonchalant about the experience. To her, it wasn't a problem, she'd been dealing with magical creatures for years, one more griffin wouldn't make a difference.

"Did you get bit?" Merlin reached out and held her jaw, inspecting the cut on her cheek bone.

"No," she lied, "just scratched up. It was a male, so at least I didn't have to worry about wings. The spikes are easier to handle."

Merlin nodded, continuing to examine her. He wished he could stop her from running into the woods, but realized it would be easier to stop himself from possessing magic than to hold Melissa back from her freedom. They couldn't help either of those; they had been born that way.

Melissa suddenly moved her chin out of Merlin's grasp, a little nervous that if he stared any longer at her he would see the truth, and find out about Arthur. That was one little piece of information her family did not need to know.

"We'd better go in; Mother will be wondering if I fell asleep out here and went sleepwalking through the forest again." She raised her eyes to smirk mischievously at Merlin.

Merlin laughed. "Yeah, we never know what someone of your condition may do," he mocked.

Melissa reached around to hit the back of his head. "Shut up, Merlin." He laughed again, relieved that Melissa was alright and back to her normal self. She walked toward the house, but just before she opened the door, Merlin called her back.

"How did you defeat the griffin?"

She paused in the darkness. "What?"

"Griffins are creatures of magic; therefore, they can only be defeated with magic. How did you get away from it?"

"What do you think? I ran. I knew I couldn't kill the creature."

"Right," he amended, "you don't need magic anyway, you're so good with that little sword of yours." Melissa glared at him, ready to draw the formidable blade. Merlin backed up. "Besides, I don't think it'd suit you."

Melissa laughed. "Yeah, remember Merlin, you're the freak show." She smiled to show the under lying affection in her tone.

He rolled his eyes, "That's right; I'm the freak, not the one wanders into forests to throw knives at blood thirsty beasts, no, that one's perfectly normal." He shook his head before walking past her into the door. "Yeah, you with magic would be ridiculous."

Melissa turned her head from the garish light of home.

"Yeah, utterly ridiculous."

There you have it! Sorry this is up later than the others, but I hope you all enjoyed the brother/sister time! :)


	18. Chapter 18

Halló! This one is European...any guesses? Time for Chapter 18, there should be a lot of new characters in the next few chapters, enjoy! :)

„Will you be having anything else, Your Majesty?"

With a wave of a hand, Uther Pendragon sent the serving girl out. He had been suffering from some terrible bouts of headache as of late, and was not in the mood to deal with yet another peasant. He sighed, rubbing his temples as he hunched over his polished, wood desk, flickering in the candlelight. He had had to endure another tiring day in court, and several peasants had been complaining about an ill harvest. As if he didn't have more important matters to attend to, such as the tensions with Cenred.

He shook his head to clear it, but only aggravated the already aggressive pain. He groaned in response, beginning to question his sanity. Not but three days after the headaches begun he had begun having the strangest dreams. Her voice ever working. Her face ever present. Sometimes wispy, but the eyes, _her_ eyes, were always sharp, haunting, accusatory. _Reconcile with your enemies, and let the pain be lifted._ That was ever her undying promise. But he knew better than to trust a filthy creature such as her. She was one of them, the first one of them, and he had done what was right by her. She stole his wife, his heart, his soul, his life; it was only proper he stole hers. But the dreams had yet to cease.

In one tremendous dream, he had found himself wondering, begging, _how can I reconcile with those I wronged? They are already forgotten._

And then she came, insistent yet persuasive, a sadness ever present. _The time will come; I will make the moment known to you._ He had promised, in that moment of weakness, to do as she asked, yet her hauntings never ceased. He would never admit it, but he was terrified. For the one he never wished see again refused to obey. She was back, and he knew she would stay until she was satisfied. Nimueh had returned to Camelot, and most importantly, to him.

I am so very sorry about the long wait and the short chapter, but I really wanted to get something out to you. Once again, my apologies if this seems very rushed. I probably wrote it in ten minutes, tops. I'm going to India for spring break, so I've been running around like crazy trying to get things in order! There won't be any updates until I get back, so that probably means about two weeks...I hope you enjoyed this (hopefully) dramatic mini-chapter! :)


	19. Chapter 19

Groet! This one could be tricky, any guesses? Chapter 19 :) Thank you for being so patient while I was away, I hope you enjoy this chapter and am eager to hear what you think! Also, a huge thank you to Phoenix2889 for following AAW, thanks for the support! I'm very sorry for this insanely long wait, but SAT's don't wait for anything!

The week following Merlin's departure was a quiet one. The most exciting thing Melissa came across was a squirrel running in her path in the forest, and that the owner of the mill was poisoning the grain. (This, of course, was information given from Alyssa, to which Melissa found herself replying, „If he poisons the grain, he won't have any customers!").

The only unusual thing in the village was the fact that Melissa was not bored or bothered by this. With the new knowledge of her impending marriage, Melissa was glad for the relative quiet and didn't have the time to be annoyed by Alyssa's childish rants. Alyssa always dreamed of the day she would wed, preferrably Prince Arthur, for she thought she stood a chance with him due to the fact that some in her family had been courtiers. Melissa had never had such desires. Even when she was small, and her mother told her fanciful bedtime stories of dashing knights and charming princesses, she was never enthralled. The princesses were too delicate, too clingy, too desperate. For example, why didn't Rapunzel simply cut her hair, braid it into a rope, and climb out the window herself?

„Melissa!" Hunith called. „Will's here for you, try to be polite. You two always got along well enough as children." The older woman offered a hopeful, tired smile.

„Yeah, but I didn't have the dagger of matrimony hanging over my head then." Melissa quickly turned and strode out the door, letting it slam behind her. The dirt on the floor jumped at the disturbance, floating out in all directions from the door. Hunith sighed, hanging her head defeatedly. She only wanted what was best for her daughter. This was for the best, wasn't it?

Sorry this is so short, this is more of a I'm-not-dead-and-have-not-been-abducted-by-aliens- within-the-last-month chapter, thanks a bunch for reading! :)


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